A 41-year-old Polish man pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis in Ballinrobe District Court last week.
Rafal Siwak was found to be in possession of cannabis worth over €1,000 when his house was searched by gardaí last year. Garda Donal Raftery told the court that on April 10 2009 at 3.55pm he received confidential information that Siwak had drugs for sale at his then residence at Anthorn House, Glebe Street, Ballinrobe. Garda Raftery obtained a search warrant and executed a search of the property at 6pm that day. During the search he found 71 tinfoil packets containing cannabis and four pieces of cannabis resin, valued over €1,000.
Solicitor for Siwak, Aidan Crowley, told the court that his client was pleading to the charges of possession but the cannabis was not for sale, but he would share it with friends when they came over. Mr Crowley went on to tell the court that his client has been in Ireland since 2006 and has always been employed, he read a reference from Siwak’s current employer to the court. He also told the court that at the time of the incident Siwak’s wife had returned to Poland, but she had now returned to Ireland and they were living together and he no longer used cannabis. Judge Mary Devins convicted and fined Siwak €500 for possession with intent to supply and took all other charges into consideration.
