Matthew Membury, the ringleader of a plot that stole nearly 49 tons of tin ingots from Tata's Trostre plant near Llanelli, has again refused to leave his prison cell to attend Swansea Crown Court. The hearing was set for a judge to make confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
Refusal to attend court
The court heard that Membury had previously refused to attend court for a plea hearing and then for his sentencing. On that occasion, the sentencing judge refused to sentence him in his absence, and when the defendant later appeared, he was jailed for 56 months.
Craig Jones, prosecuting, told the hearing that the financial investigation found Membury benefited from his criminal conduct by some £579,912, but the only assets identified were a van and a collection of tools worth £4,695. The barrister said he would invite the court to treat the absent defendant as an absconder under section 27 of the Proceeds of Crime Act.
The theft conspiracy
Membury, aged 32, of Phoebe Road, Copper Quarter, Swansea, was the getaway driver and also responsible for selling the stolen metal to dealers across Wales and England, and for dividing the cash among the gang. The conspiracy was devised by Thomas Ashford, a supervisor in the casting house at the Trostre plant, who had access to the tin ingots delivered to the site.
Site security supervisor Stewart Jones controlled who entered the works and initially opened the gates for Membury. As the operation developed, Jones created a cloned Tata pass for Membury in the name of David Davies, allowing him to gain access as a legitimate employee. Once inside, Membury drove his van to the casting house, where Ashford provided access to the warehouse and loaded ingots into a Ford Transit using a forklift truck. Ashford also recruited Richard Jones, a former Royal Welsh Fusilier soldier he supervised, to load the van on occasions.
Sentences and recovery
In just 15 months, almost 49 tons of tin ingots worth more than £1.2m were stolen from the site. None of the metal has ever been recovered. The gang was caught after suspicions were raised about ingots going missing shortly after delivery, and Dyfed-Powys Police were given permission to monitor deliveries and access security card activations at the site.
With a 20 per cent discount for his pleas, including possession of bladed articles, Membury was sentenced to 56 months in prison, as a serving prisoner already jailed in January for a "revenge" firebombing of a car. Ashford and Stewart Jones each received three years and four months with one-third discounts. Richard Jones received 20 months suspended for two years, with 250 hours of unpaid work and a nightly curfew for three months.
Judge Catherine Richards adjourned the hearing to December 3 to give Membury another chance to attend, and said if he failed to appear, the court would treat him as having absconded and deal with him in his absence.
