An independent bike shop based in Aberystwyth will receive nearly £77,350 from the proceeds of crime act, after their family run business was victim to a sophisticated burglary in 2025.

Four burglars wearing balaclavas smashed their way into Afan Cycles on Glanyrafon Industrial Estate in Aberystwyth on Saturday, 12 April, 2025.

Within seven minutes, they managed to get their hands on 22 e-bikes and mountain bikes worth a combined retail value of £90,000 and loaded them into the back of a van on with false plates.

Piecing together evidence, multiple departments worked together leading to the arrest of the Birmingham criminals Gareth Corbett, 37, Wayne Draisy, 41, Gavin Johnson, 40, and Keith Johnson, 33, across the border by West Mercia Police.

After they conspired together to steal bikes and other items from the Galnyrafon estate between 7 and 13 April, the four were charged with burglary and conspiring to commit burglary and remanded into custody.

All defendants pleaded guilty to both charges on May 19, 2025 at Swansea Crown Court.

The victim shared: “We have built Afan Bikes over seven years with commitment, passion, and significant financial investment. This crime placed the business — and the livelihoods of our three full-time staff, myself, my wife, and our dependents — in a precarious position.

“While we are doing our best to keep going, the loss of assets, staff, income, and customer confidence has made this the most difficult period we have ever faced.

“Recovery will take time, resources, and community support — and even then, the future remains uncertain.

“We are grateful to the police for their swift response and hope that this statement provides a clear understanding of how far-reaching the impact of this crime has been, not just on our business, but on the wider community we support.”

On 8 August, 2025, all four were all jailed for the parts they played in the crime, where they all received a jail sentence of over 30 months for each offence, to run concurrently.

At Swansea Crown Court on Thursday, 12 February, the Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings finalised, HHJ Walters granted Confiscation Orders depriving the defendants of assets totalling £77,348.16, as compensation to the victims, Afan Cycles.

Failure to pay will result in an 18-month term of imprisonment (plus the forced sale of properties).

Reacting to the decision, Helen Kelly, of our Economic Crime Team said: “For this local family run business, this incident had a significant impact. Whilst it will not fix what has happened, hopefully the compensation from this proceeding will help them in continuing to rebuild their business.

“I hope this sentencing serves as a reminder that if you are profiting from crime, we will not only arrest and charge you but use all available powers to ensure that you are not able to live off the proceeds of your criminal activity.”