Newport men jailed for west Wales golf club burglaries
Two men have been jailed after targeting two west Wales golf clubs in back-to-back burglary hits.
Mikael Bourkhari, aged 45, and Simon Dickey, aged 38 – both from Newport, South Wales – both pleaded guilty to burglary at a court hearing in January.
On Monday 2 March, at Swansea Crown Court, Boukhari was jailed for two years and six months, while Dickey was jailed for two years and eight months.
The court heard how Dyfed-Powys Police was called at around 12.45am on Sunday 18 January, reporting that the intruder alarm had been activated at Haverfordwest Golf Club.
Officers arrived just six minutes later, where it was clear that the building had been the target of a deliberate and forcible break-in.
Club owners arrived shortly after and noted that several golf clubs worth between £100 and £500 each had been taken from the club shop. It was estimated that the total value of items stolen was around £36,000.
While officers secured evidence at the scene, control room staff at police headquarters gathered intelligence on vehicles in the area that could potentially be linked with the crime.
A red Vauxhall van was identified as part of their enquiries, and a description of the vehicle was shared with officers in both Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire.
With officers over the county border alerted to the break-in, local units decided to patrol the golf club in Carmarthen as a precaution. On arrival, it was apparent that the Carmarthen golf club had also been hit.
The front door was extensively damaged, and a yellow crowbar abandoned at the scene. It was estimated that around £7,000 worth of golf clubs had also been stolen from the premises. It was also estimated that around £5,000 worth of damage was caused to the building.
Shortly after 2am, Roads Policing Officers located the suspect vehicle travelling along the A48 towards Pont Abraham, despite fake number plates having been placed on the vehicle.
The van was stopped, and a suspiciously large number of golf clubs and bags were found inside. The driver and his passenger – who identified themselves as “Richard Smythe” and “Michael Hale” – were arrested on suspicion of burglary.
Back at custody, the pair confessed to giving fake names and were further arrested on suspicion of obstructing police.
All the stolen items were recovered and returned to the golf clubs.
Mikael Bourkhari and Simon Dickey appeared at Llanelli Magistrates Court the following morning (19 January) and pleaded guilty to both counts of burglary and one count of obstructing police.
On Monday (2 March), the pair were sentenced to prison:
- Mikael Bourkhari, aged 45 – two years and six months
- Simon Dickey, aged 38 – two years and eight months.
Detective Constable Kate Williams said: “Thanks to the fantastic work of the officers who responded on the night itself, and the investigation that followed, Boukhari and Dickey have now faced the consequences of their brazen actions.
“These local golf club owners have worked incredibly hard to build and maintain facilities that bring members of the golfing community together. They should never become the target of such a devastating crime.
“Today’s result underlines the fact that if you travel into the Dyfed-Powys area to commit crime, you will be caught.
“We will take every necessary step to identify you, arrest you and bring you to justice.
“I now hope the victims in this case can move on from these terrible incidents and return to running the golf clubs that are loved by so many.”