When police carried out a drugs search on a house they discovered more than they bargained for - a stolen police uniform.
The kit had been taken from an officer's car more than three months earlier, and its whereabouts had been unknown to the authorities until the drugs warrant was executed.
The man found with the uniform told police he had found it in a hedge - and claimed he had "forgotten" he had it.
Swansea Magistrates Court heard that on October 7 last year a special constable - a unpaid volunteer officer - with Dyfed-Powys Police returned home to Gorseinon after completing a night shift.
Julie Sullivan, prosecuting, said the officer left his uniform and kit in a hold-all the boot of his car, but the following day found the items were gone.
The court heard the stolen bag contained the constable's fleece jacket and his identifying "collar number", cap, stab vest, utility vest, and hi-vis jacket, along with CS spray, baton, handcuffs, radio, pocket notebook, and torch.
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The uniform was discovered by chance on January 24 this year when South Wales Police officers carried out a drugs raid on the house of Benjamin Lewis Matthews.
The officers uncovered just 0.6 gram of cannabis - worth around £10 - in the property but in a bedroom found most of stolen uniform and equipment, still in its original hold-all.
Matthews was arrested and in interview he said he had found the bag.
The 31-year-old said he had been standing on his doorstep smoking when two "boys" ran down the street, throwing a bag into a nearby hedge as they went.
He said he retrieved the bag and put it in his bedroom.
The court heard he told officers there had been "rumours in the village that children were responsible" for the theft of the uniform, and he knew he should have reported the matter to police.
Matthews, of Dantwyn Road, Pontarddulais , pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and to handling stolen goods.
The court heard he has two previous convictions for six offences, including for taking a vehicle without the owner's consent.
Tom Lloyd, for Matthews, said his client maintained that he "forgot" he had the uniform in his house.
He said the bag containing the police kit had not been concealed but had simply been left in a "messy bedroom", and he said there was no indication the uniform had been used in any way since its theft.
District judge Neale Thomas said a stolen police uniform in circulation in the community was a serious matter because of the harm that could be caused by its misuse.
He described the explanation given by Matthews as "incredible".
He told the defendant: "It is a situation that is so incredible the question is, do I believe it?
"However incredible the explanation you gave might be, the simple fact remains that you had stolen police items in your possession for several months.
"Had there been any suggestion that they had been used, you would be going to custody."
For handling stolen goods Matthews was made the subject of a 12-week community order with a nightly 9pm to 6am electronically-monitored curfew.
No separate penalty was imposed for possession of cannabis.
