11/12/2015 BBC Wales Today

Here on BBC One, it's time for the news where you are.

They planned to supply millions of pounds worth of drugs to Wales.

But tonight, an organised crime gang is jailed for a total

And last seen almost 20 years ago, John Sabine's remains

Police say his late wife is the main murder suspect.

13 members of a Welsh "organised crime group"

who planned to supply millions of pounds worth of Albanian

have been sentenced to a total of more than 50 years in prison.

Gwent police believe the multi-million pound haul

of "high purity cocaine" and mephedrone

is the largest the force has ever made.

Pure cocaine - that was ready to be mixed with other chemicals -

Up to ?4.5 million worth of the drug sourced

Police say it's one of the largest operations

There's no doubt that organised crime groups are motivated by greed

with no regard or consequence for the effect that the drugs have

on the communities within which they live and operate.

I think that sentences like today will send a strong message

to members of the public that they are not untouchable.

Today 13 men all from the Gwent area were sentenced

to a total of more than 53 years in prison.

For conspiring to supply cocaine and mephedrone

Some of the men were described as couriers, some acted

But this is the man who ran the operation.

28-year-old Ashley Burgham from Blaina described as the "head

And although in charge he who would never "handle"

But one drugs worker feels sentences like this are only half the battle.

There's so much of these drugs around and sometimes you look

at the way we criminalise people who get drugs in and you wonder

is the system working, is it fit for purpose?

And I really think that the fact that it would not flood the market

is indicative of the fact that policy as a whole

And the drugs came to Wales from thousands of miles away.

Meetings were organised with the "head" of

an Albanian crime gang described as an "upstream" supplier.

The group met a courier from the gang 15 times.

But when that courier was arrested the group turned to a middle man

The court heard the group tried to meet this man

on a "regular" basis, four times a month.

Groups which help people with drug problems say a number of routes

South America, often Colombia, from there it is exported

into Europe, often through Spain, distributed through criminal

networks, across the continent, finding its way into Wales.

Mephedrdone on the other hand is manufactured in the far east,

China, sent through networks on the Internet into Europe then

The court heard this was about "profit" which went

to the head of the group, Ashley Burgham.

More than ?205,000 was seized by police.

These men were involved in a criminal conspiracy

that spanned a continent with its roots in Blaunau Gwent.

Sentencing them judge Daniel Williams said they

Police investigating the discovery of human remains in Beddau last

month say they belonged to a man who was last seen in 1997

and that his wife is now the main suspect in the murder investigation.

John and Leigh-Ann Sabine moved to Rhondda Cynon Taff

South Wales Police first began investigating here in Beddau last

night after human remains were found wrapped in plastic in a communal

which has uncovered with a complex murder investigation

The remains belonged to John Sabine, who would now have been 85.

A postmortem examination showed Mr Sabine's injuries suggest

The main suspect is now his late wife, Leigh-Ann.

John Sabine moved into these flats along with his wife,

Police believe that he disappeared in that same year

although his disappearance was never formally reported to the police.

His wife Leigh-Ann continued to live here until October this year,

when she died of cancer at the age of 74.

The couple had children who they were estranged from.

They have been told of these latest developments.

The people living here say it's been a huge shock and a worrying time.

I was that little bit more nervous than you were before,

because before, you would just go out and you wouldn't think about it

but since you heard that, you can see

yourself looking over your shoulder and thinking there's someone out

there that's just committed a murder.

They are asking anyone who knew the couple to get in touch

with them, particularly if they met or spent time with them

They are also asking people if they know anything

about the plastic wrapping that Mr Sabine was concealed in.

They say anyone with any information about this case

An independent review of the Waterhouse inquiry

into historical abuse at children's homes in North Wales

It was set up three years ago by Lady Justice Macur.

She's now delivered it to both the Secretary of State for Justice

and the Secretary of State for Wales and the UK Government says

will be considered as a matter of urgency.

A 24-year-old man has been jailed for three years and 10 months

after the car he was driving crashed into a group of people

Ryan Ford was being chased by the police

when he lost control of the car, harming 21 people,

some of them sustaining life-changing injuries.

Patients will be able to have a consultation with their GP

using a smartphone and monitor their conditions via mobile apps,

as part of a new Welsh Government strategy.

There will be more opportunity to book appointments online

and people will be able to access their own health records

The Health Minister says the five-year plan is intended

digital technology at the heart of the Welsh Health Service.

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal says he'll speak

to his assistant Ryan Giggs about reports linking him

The former Wales captain has been linked with the role,

following Garry Monk's departure from the Liberty Stadium

Meanwhile, Cardiff City manager Russell Slade has been speaking

about his disappointment over Monk's dismissal.

It seems to happen with alarming regularity and our game seems

So it's always a tinge of disappointment, when you see

a manager go, because you know how difficult the job can be and

You can only hope that somebody like Garry Monk will bounce back

quickly and get back in the game, and I'm sure he will.

Slade's men welcome Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow.

They're entering a critical period in their bid for promotion

to the Premier League, according to the manager.

The Swans face Manchester City under the caretaker boss,

Newport are at Notts County while Wrexham travel to Tranmere

Rugby, and the Cardiff Blues staged an impressive comeback

for a bonus-point win over Montpellier

in the European Challenge Cup at the Arms Park.

The visitors took the lead with three tries in 20 minutes

but the Blues scored five tries including two by Josh Navidi

What's the weather got in store for us this weekend?

Here's Behnaz Akhgar with the forecast.

it is a weekend of two halves, wit and win the conditions on Sunday and

Saturday looking dry but remaining cloudy. We have a weather system

bringing more rain in from the south-west. That will bring slowly

to higher ground on the North. Tomorrow, low-pressure controlling

the weather. With that, wit and windy conditions from the word go.

Not a very nice start to Saturday morning. The potential for snow in

the North and localised flooding for Northern counties. Further south,

the rain not as heavy and brisk winds coming in from a

south-westerly direction. For the rest of the UK, showers across

Scotland but it will see the best of the dry weather, and this band of

rain then continuing across northern England. The rain continuing with

mild air following on from the South on Saturday evening. The difference

between the North and south, single figures for the North and much

milder in the South at around 13 Celsius. The rain will play when

Sunday, hanging onto that cloud, mist and fog, but it will be chilly

with clear skies in the north, with temperatures around freezing, giving

is a chilly start to Sunday. It will be unsettled for the start of next

week. It. Dry with more rain pushing in from the south again, heavy at

times, and the rest of the week is unsettled, too.

We're back at five to six tomorrow evening.

From all of us on the programme, good night.