🚓 Caught Playing ‘Gangsters’: Balaclava-wearing lads in Swansea tried to live the gangster life but got caught just an hour after starting their cannabis hustle. 🚗💨
Harvey Young, Maddox Vaughan, Ryan Naaif, and Harrison Davies set up a base on St Helen’s Avenue. They thought they had it all figured out, driving around in a Ford Fiesta, packing boxes into the car, and speeding off into the night. Little did they know, their antics had been spotted by locals who tipped off the police. 👀📞
On the hunt for their getaway car, police soon found it on Walter Road, where they stopped the Fiesta in its tracks. Inside the car, officers found more than just teenagers with a penchant for balaclavas. Young had two kitchen knives, a meat cleaver, £655 in cash, and quite a stash of cannabis on him. Vaughan tried to pass it off as just giving his mates a lift, but that didn’t fly with the officers. 😷🚔
All in all, 158g of cannabis were seized at the scene. Messages on Young’s phone hinted at their small-time operation, instructing contacts to be up “grafting.” The four were in over their heads, thinking it was all just a daring adventure.
Appearing at Swansea Crown Court, each of the lads admitted to possession of cannabis with intent to supply. Despite their young ages, some already had rap sheets. Harvey Young, out on licence for previous drug offences, now expects a child and hopes to leave his criminal past behind. Naiff, Vaughan, and Davies are also eager to make a fresh start.
Judge Paul Thomas KC didn’t mince his words, telling them they might have thought they were “proper little gangsters,” but warned, “Do let me see you again, gentlemen—it will not end well.” With suspended sentences, community service, and rehabilitation courses, the hope is they’ll make good on their second chance and leave their life of ‘crime’ in the past. ⏳💼