Twenty-seven people wanted by police were arrested in a single day across Swansea and Neath Port Talbot last week. Twelve of them have since been charged or kept in custody for court, South Wales Police said.
The arrests on Wednesday 28 October were the latest round of Operation Chirk, the force’s name for days spent tracking down suspects who are still outstanding, or whose faces have already gone out in wanted appeals, and bringing them in.
Those picked up included people the force describes as high-risk domestic abuse suspects, people wanted on warrant, and people recalled to prison, meaning they had been released on licence and ordered back.
Seven arrests in the city centre, six in Neath
The biggest haul was in Swansea city centre, with seven arrests. Five more were made across Townhill and Gower.
Morriston accounted for another five. Two were made across Gorseinon and Penlan.
In Neath there were six arrests, one of them by Special Constables, the force’s volunteer officers. Two more were made in Port Talbot.
The force has given only those broad categories for the 27, and has not broken down what happened to the 15 not yet charged or remanded.
Deputy Inspector Fox credits tip-offs from the public
Deputy Inspector Martin Fox said each Operation Chirk day “demonstrates our determination to pursue criminals and bring them to justice”. He said officers and staff had “worked tirelessly to reduce outstanding demand through detailed investigations carried out with the utmost professionalism”.
He also credited tip-offs. “Well done to all officers and staff, and thank you to the public who supplied information which was vital to securing these arrests and keeping our communities safe,” he said.
Operation Chirk has run across south Wales since at least 2024
This is not the first sweep of its kind in the two counties. In February the force reported more than 30 arrests in Swansea and Neath Port Talbot on a single Operation Chirk day.
The operation runs force-wide. In September 2024 it made 53 arrests across south Wales in the first of three days of action that autumn, for offences the force listed as including domestic violence, assault, witness intimidation and possessing a firearm.
Eleven people were charged after that first day, and Chief Inspector Jamie Holcombe said at the time that the aim was to cut the number of outstanding suspects with “positive disposal outcomes”.
Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan have had similar wanted days of action, with 32 arrests in January and 24 in November last year, including suspects wanted for prison recall and shop thefts, according to the force.
It sits alongside the force’s other rolling operations in Swansea, such as Operation Akalat against illegal bikes and dangerous driving, which put seven people in custody in a single July sweep.
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