Three-and-half years in jail for man over €49,000 Offaly drugs find

A DRUG dealer who answered the door in his underpants to gardai posing as staff with the DPD delivery service has been jailed for three-and-a-half years at Tullamore Circuit Court.

Judge Sinead McMullan this morning (Friday, October 10) deferred the sentence to October 29 so that Maciej Klosiewicz (56), St Patrick's Avenue, Rhode can attend the graduation of his daughter who has qualified as a dental nurse.

Mr Klosiewicz admitted possessing of amphetamines, methylamphetamines and chloromethcathinone for sale or supply to others at his residence on St Patrick's Avenue, Rhode on September 4, 2023.

Mr Klosiewicz also pleaded guilty to a connected charge of having drugs with a market value of more than €13,000 and the court heard they were worth a total of €49,382.44.

The latter offence carries a maximum sentence of life with a presumptive minimum of 10 years but Judge McMullan said there were exceptional circumstances in the case where she could deviate from that minimum.

She said the accused had no previous convictions for drug trafficking and had pleaded guilty, which she stated was the greatest form of mitigation.

The man also suffers from poor health, had a drug debt and had been threatened, and did not have the trappings of wealth.

Furthermore, he was no longer abusing substances himself and had stopped doing so without professional help. Also, he did not drink.

Judge McMullan nonetheless said he had committed very serious offences: “Drugs are a scourge on society and the courts look on that as very serious indeed.”

While the value of the drugs was high, the man's involvement seemed to be for financial gain and to pay off a drug debt.

Along with the three-and-a-half years for having drugs valued at more than €13,000, a concurrent two-year sentence was imposed for having drugs for sale or supply to others. Possession of amphetamines was taken into consideration.

Damien Colgan, SC, defending, said the accused's daughter's graduation is due to take place on October 28 and the man, who is on bail, would like to be present for it. He was seeking a deferral of the imposition of the sentence.

The judge said that was not something she had done before but she agreed to do so after Shane Geraghty, BL, for the DPP, said the State was neutral in relation to that matter.

Judge McMullan ordered that Mr Klosiewicz present himself at Tullamore Garda Station on October 29 at noon and in the meantime he is to observe a curfew between 10pm and 7am.

The judge stressed to the man that the curfew also applies on the night of his daughter's graduation.

In a sentencing hearing earlier this week, Detective Garda Tom Dunne outlined how a sting operation had been arranged after information had been received that a package that was intercepted at the DPD depot in Athlone on August 30, 2023 contained a controlled substance.

The name on the package was Maciej Chodzymski but the address was that of Mr Klosiewicz in Rhode.

What gardai call a controlled delivery was arranged and Detective Garda Edel Kenny arrived at the man's house with a clip board and DPD documentation.

The accused answered the door in his underpants and when he was asked, he said he was Maciej Chodzymski and signed for the package, which contained a microwave oven.

Methylamphetamines and chloromethcathinone were hidden in the oven in an area which had to be screwed apart for them to be found.

Amphetamines, which were of much smaller value than the other drugs, were found in the sitting room. There were two other microwave ovens in the house.

A tick list, three weighing scales and a vacuum packer were also found and during a conversation with gardai the accused, who appeared in court with the help of an interpreter, said he couldn't understand when some matters were put to him.

Detective Garda Dunne detailed that the man had come from Warsaw, Poland in 2006 having had a small fruit and vegetable shop there.

He lived in Edenderry at first with his wife and daughter and then moved to Rhode in the last seven or eight years.

“I don't know nothing about the package,” he was recorded as saying in a garda interview and he said the drugs in the package weren't his but admitted owning the amphetamines, which he would sometimes sell to friends.

He owned a car and a boat, with the latter said to be of not much value, and said he had inherited an apartment from his mother in Warsaw, which he had sold.

He also told gardai he was owned about €2,000 or €3,000 and after he had paid his rent of €650 he would have about €200 disposable income each month.

The package sent to his house had his mobile number on it and had come from Poland and there were messages on his phone which indicated drug dealing.

He indicated that he did not expect that amount of drugs to arrive and didn't know what they were.

In summary, he accepted that the amphetamines were his but disavowed any knowledge of the other drugs.

Detective Garda Dunne said the man's house wasn't in great condition and he was in receipt of €245 per week disability payment.

The garda also said there was no sign of any wealth in the accused's Credit Union account and indeed he had a loan from the Credit Union.