Louth drug dealer’s jail time extended by three years after ‘crazy enterprise’

By Francis Carroll, The Drogheda Independent

A drug dealer currently serving a four-year sentence has had another three years jail time added after he pleaded guilty to more charges.

Counsel for Mariusz Grudski (57) said that it was a “crazy enterprise” and he was always going to get caught as gardaí knew what he was at.

The defendant, of River Court, Drogheda, and who had the assistance of an interpreter, admitted possession of amphetamine for sale or supply with a value of €13,000 or more at The Cloisters, Collon, on March 19, 2025.

He also pleaded guilty to two possession for sale or supply charges in respect of cannabis and amphetamine, on December 10, 2021.

Dundalk Circuit Court heard that he was dealing to clear a debt and had been left with a bigger debt when the drugs were seized.

Gda Leon Fox said that gardaí searched the defendant’s Audi A6 Estate on the March date and found drugs in a magnetic box underneath the bonnet.

A follow-up search of a room Mr Grudski was renting at The Cloisters yielded cannabis and amphetamine valued more than €30,000. Most of the drugs were found in a small fridge in the bedroom.

He was non-compliant in the investigation.

The court heard that on December 10, 2021, at North Road, Drogheda, gardaí saw a person approach the driver’s window of a car. The accused was behind the wheel. Something was passed between them.

Cannabis and amphetamine were found behind the car radio, while a follow-up search at his home produced smaller amounts of the drugs. The total value was almost €2,200.

Feargal Kavanagh SC said that Mr Grudski, a diabetic, had suffered two hearts attacks several years ago.

A Polish national with no family in this country, he has a daughter in Liverpool, and had started learning English in prison where he worked in the kitchen.

Mr Kavanagh added that there was no excuse for these offences committed while on bail.

The defendant was unlikely to be staying in Ireland when released.

Judge Dara Hayes said it was the Garda view that Mariusz Grudski was not on the lowest rung (of the drugs scene) perhaps somewhere in the mid-range.

A four-year sentence was imposed, the final 12 months suspended, consecutive to an existing four-year jail term which started on March 20, 2025.

Orders were made for the destruction of the drugs and forfeiture of the defendant's car.