By Jessica Magee
A man who went to collect insulation pallets containing over half a million euros worth of cannabis discovered he couldn’t fit them all in his rented car, a court has heard.
Dominik Golebiowski (30) of Krakow in Poland pleaded guilty to possessing the drugs for sale or supply after he was stopped by gardaí at the Dublin Port toll plaza last July 5th.
He was sentenced to five and a half years in prison on Thursday at a sitting of Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
Detective Garda Patrick Hearne told George Burns BL, prosecuting, that the offence came to light after a detective dog found the drugs at a logistics warehouse in Co Dublin.
Customs and excise officers were searching a warehouse at Dachser Ireland, Blackchurch Business Park, Rathcoole, when the dog indicated the presence of drugs in a consignment.
The consignment was brought back to Customs in Dublin Port, where concealed cannabis was found cut into ten insulation sheets.
The following day, an employee in Dacsher’s logistics section received a call from someone with poor English who needed directions to the warehouse to collect the insulation pallets.
The staff member gave this man the Eircode, and when he arrived, he signed for the consignment and produced a false Polish ID card.
This man, the accused, was then told that the insulation pallets were 7ft high and wouldn’t fit in his white Tuscon hatchback.
Golebiowski replied that he would take what he could and come back for the rest.
He managed to fit four insulation sheets into the car and was later interrupted by gardaí at Dublin Port.
Gardaí searched the rented car and found two iPhones with Dutch numbers and an Alcatel phone.
14 packages of cannabis worth around €200,000 were found in the car, and the remaining €300,000 worth of drugs were discovered in the warehouse.
In total, gardaí seized over 25 kg of cannabis valued at €505,340.
Golebiowski gave his correct name and address and said his ID was fake, but his passport was real.
He told gardaí on arrest that he had arrived in Ireland ten days earlier from Brussels and that the iPhones were his.
He said he was not under pressure or in fear, adding, “No, I’m not afraid.”
CCTV footage from Dublin Airport showed Golebiowski picking up the rental car from a company on July 6th.
Golebiowski has no previous convictions.
Gda Hearne agreed with Diarmaid McGuinness SC, defending that the accused was lower on the chain of culpability than others involved and had effectively been a transporter of the drugs.
Mr McGuinness said Golebiowski deeply regrets his involvement and, although he was not necessarily aware of the full scale of the operation, takes full responsibility for his role.
Golebiowski worked as a chef in Krakow, and his mother, sister, and fiancée wrote letters on his behalf which were handed into the court.
The court heard his mother is seriously ill.
Judge Martin Nolan said Golebiowksi was a “vital cog in the wheel” but had no record and was unlikely to re-offend.
He described the accused as a good family man and noted that as a Polish man with limited English, he will find it harder in an Irish prison.
The sentence was backdated to July 5 last.