Romanian sentenced for stealing outboard engines from Neyland marina

Marian Tosa visited the Marina in the early hours of September 9, 2020 and removed nine outboard engines which, according to Crown Prosecutor Sian Vaughan, had been hidden beneath undergrowth.

“A witness was woken by the noise and notified the police,” she said.

The outboard engines had been removed from boats which were moored at Neyland Marina and Ms Vaughan informed magistrates that their total value amounted to £7,900.

Each of the engines were subsequently recovered by police.

This week Tosa pleaded guilty to nine charges of theft when he appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates.

He was legally represented by Katy Hanson who informed magistrates that Tosa arrived in the UK with his father in 2020.

“He was 17 and his father, who brought him here, told him he’d be able to find work,” she said.

“However when he arrived his father took all his documents, including his passport, and there was no work. He was then told that he would have to steal in order to make money.”

Ms Hanson went on to say that Tosa's father then began giving him drugs.

“Marian Tosa felt he had no option but to do everything his father told him to,” she said.

“And then his father disappeared, leaving him on his own in the UK.

“This is a particularly sad state of circumstances that has brought him before the court today.”

Tosa, who is currently serving a custodial sentence in Scotland, was given a conditional discharge for 18 months.

Presiding magistrate Mary Smith confirmed that this was the result of Tosa facing deportation following his release from custody later this year.

“We are having to depart from our normal sentencing guidelines as a result of his pending deportation,” she said.