Passenger Caught with Small Arsenal Walks Free

An air passenger walked free from court yesterday after bringing a small arsenal of weapons into Cardiff Airport in his luggage. Customs officers at Cardiff International Airport discovered two push daggers, a knuckle-duster and three asps (police-style batons) during a random search of 59-year-old Malcolm Lloyd's luggage in March.

Cardiff Crown Court heard that Lloyd, who had been returning home from a trip to Thailand, told officers the knuckle-duster and asps were for self-protection, while the daggers were for gutting fish.

Lloyd, from Pontllanfraith, near Blackwood, pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing dangerous articles at an airport.

He was given an eight-month suspended prison sentence yesterday.

John Lloyd, prosecuting, said, 'He told officers he was having problems with youths locally at his address in Pontllanfraith and that this was the reason he had the weapons, for self-protection, with the exception of the two push daggers.

'He was asked about those problems and said youths had been throwing things at his home address; he had reported those incidents to the police and the police had dealt with those matters.'

Mr Lloyd added, 'Asked about the push daggers, he told officers he used them to gut fish and rabbit. He said he did not see them as weapons.

'Then he was asked, 'So you're prepared to use them?' and he said 'Yes, most definitely'.'

Anthony Vine, defending, said Lloyd had only brought the weapons through the airport in order to take them home.

'I don't believe there is any suggestion these weapons were intended at any stage to be used by him while in the airplane or while in the aerodrome. They were in his hold luggage, not his hand luggage.'

Sentencing Lloyd, Judge Stephen Hopkins QC told him, 'I consider you to be more stupid than dangerous.'

He said, 'I have no doubt you are not the first and won't be the last stupid person to have bought such items as souvenirs.

'But what is worrying is that your reason for buying them was for self-protection because of trouble you had with local youths.

'What precisely you were going to use the asps [batons] and knuckle-duster for, bearing in mind you were dealing with troublesome children, and the amount of damage you could cause with these articles, is something I find very worrying indeed.'

He said that Lloyd's explanation that the 'vicious-looking' push daggers were for gutting fish was 'most unlikely'.

The judge added, 'Worryingly, when your home was searched [after] being stopped at Cardiff Airport, local police recovered further items - three replica guns, a flick knife, a police baton and another knuckle-duster.

'And, in January, when you had been arrested for common assault - albeit those proceedings were subsequently abandoned by the prosecution - and police searched your home, they found a police baton and a knuckle-duster.'

He sentenced Lloyd to eight months imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently and suspended for two years.

The judge also made a Prohibited Activity Requirement Order against him.

This banned Lloyd from possessing, carrying or using anything more dangerous than kitchen cutlery. The two-year ban covered firearms, replica firearms, anything capable of discharging a missile, anything with a blade other than cutlery, and anything that is made for or adapted for causing injury - such as police batons and knuckle-dusters. Lloyd pleaded not guilty to possessing a flick knife at the airport, and the judge ordered that the charge lie on file.

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