Polish visitor’s house-sitting gig was bad case of pot luck

Of all the joints in all the world... a new Polish visitor to Cork certainly picked the wrong one to live in — and landed a prison sentence for cannabis possession as a result.

Grzegorz Macierzynski, 32, arrived in Ireland during the summer to set up a business with a compatriot.

The plan fell through, however, when Macierzynski’s would-be business partner needed to return to Poland, leaving him with no funds, little English and no accommodation.

A “friend of a friend of a friend” subsequently offered Macierzynski a house to mind on Charleville Road, Newmarket, Co Cork — and the 130 cannabis plants therein.

Macierzynski’s story was outlined by solicitor Helen Jeffords at a recent sitting of Mallow District Court where he pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis with intent for sale or supply, and cultivation of the drug.

Inspector Tony O’Sullivan told Judge Brian Sheridan that gardaí were called to the house on August 11 by the defendant for an unrelated matter when they discovered the haul.

Insp O’Sullivan said that four of the plants had reached maturity and that the total find had a value of €3,200.

Ms Jeffords told Judge Sheridan that her client had been in custody since August 13, was pleading guilty at the earliest possible opportunity and wished to return to Poland as he recently discovered that his father is terminally ill.

Judge Sheridan imposed a one-year sentence on Macierzynski, suspending the final eight months of the sentence and back dating it to August 13.