A man described in court as having a fascination with weapons has been jailed for five and a half years after a haul of illegal arms was found hidden in his ex-partner’s home in Abergwynfi — sparking a major multi-agency emergency response that left a quiet terraced street sealed off for hours.
Maximin Carter, 51, of Neath Port Talbot, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on Monday after pleading guilty in March to seven weapons offences — including possession of a prohibited self-contained gas cartridge air weapon and six counts of possessing offensive weapons in a private place.
The incident began on Valentine’s Day — Sunday 14 February — when Carter’s former partner contacted South Wales Police with concerns about what was inside her home on Commercial Street. Carter had been staying there without her permission and in breach of a non-molestation order.
She feared he had “booby-trapped” the property, and was alarmed by plastic bottles filled with polystyrene which she believed were bombs. No explosives were found — but her call triggered one of the most dramatic responses the village had seen.
Police were called to the property at around 9.30pm and the incident continued well into the following day. Residents on Commercial Street and nearby properties were evacuated in the early hours, taking shelter in the miners’ hall. Military resources and bomb disposal specialists were deployed, with a remote-controlled EOD robot photographed outside the property as searches continued.
Some residents said police had been in the village since before 6am, describing the street as “swarming with police.” The main road through Abergwynfi was closed, causing travel disruption across the Afan Valley and the Bwlch Mountain Road route into Neath Port Talbot.
The searches concluded that afternoon. Chief Superintendent Stephen Jones thanked the community for their patience, acknowledging the heavy police presence “will have been unsettling” for residents who had no idea what was happening on their street.
When officers searched the property — which the court heard was “strewn with various objects” and in a state of considerable disorder — they found an air rifle stored in a wooden box, a substantial amount of ammunition, a ninja sword, a knuckle duster and four telescopic truncheons. The prosecution told the sentencing hearing the search made clear Carter had an “interest in arms and weaponry.”
(Image: South Wales Police)
(Image: South Wales Police)
(Image: South Wales Police)
Carter appeared in court days later initially charged with attempting to make an explosive with intent to endanger life. That charge was not ultimately pursued — but his guilty pleas to the weapons charges confirmed the scale of the haul that had prompted such a dramatic emergency response.
Carter’s defence told the sentencing hearing he had reached rock bottom following a domestic breakdown, and that he was now correctly medicated. He had one previous conviction — for cannabis possession in 1998 — and had received a caution for possession of an offensive weapon in 2009.
Judge Huw Rees identified that 2009 caution as an aggravating factor in sentencing, alongside the substantial quantity of ammunition found in conjunction with the prohibited air weapon.
Carter appeared at the hearing via videolink from HMP Swansea. He will serve 40% of his five-and-a-half-year sentence in custody, with the remainder on licence.
Detective Sergeant Kristian Burt said the incident in February had rightfully caused serious concern among residents who had no way of knowing whether their homes were safe.
“We would like to give those residents a massive thank-you for their co-operation and understanding while we made our enquiries and carried out our investigation following Maximin Carter’s arrest back in February,” he said.
“They can be assured that Abergwynfi is much safer now that these weapons have been seized,” he added.
