Man caught with amphetamine and cannabis claims he ‘found’ drugs near Cork church

Judge dismisses claims drugs were 'found' as Cork man is convicted after gardaí uncover amphetamine, cannabis and dealing equipment

Sebastian Switaj, 44, denied selling drugs and told gardaí the drugs had been left in the open for anyone to find in Fermoy, Co Cork. File picture: Denise Minihane

A man caught with amphetamine, cannabis, deal bags, and digital weighing scales in his bedroom claimed he “found” the drugs near a church in a Cork town and brought them home out of curiosity.

Sebastian Switaj, 44, denied selling drugs and told gardaí the drugs had been left in the open for anyone to find in Fermoy, Co Cork.

But Judge Miriam Walsh said he was caught with “all the paraphernalia of a drug dealer”, adding the drugs he was dealing could be fatal.

“The people you are getting drugs from to supply to unfortunate addicts are people I regard as shady people living in sunny places,” Judge Walsh said in Fermoy District Court.

“They, and dealers like himself, it would seem, have no conscience when these addicts are lowered six feet underground.” 

Garda Gary O’Shea told the court that when he searched the house where Mr Switaj was living in Rathowen, Fermoy, under warrant, he found 33g of cannabis and 45.312g of amphetamine on February 10, 2023.

The amphetamine was valued at €679, while the cannabis was worth €660, the court heard.

The cannabis was found in a cup, while the “pink, hard substance” — identified as amphetamine — was in a container. Deal bags and a digital weighing scales were also recovered.

This, the court heard, was paraphernalia associated with drug dealing.

When gardaí discovered the drugs, Mr Switaj told them he had found a package in a park in Fermoy and brought it back to his shared rental accommodation.

“When I opened it, I found a ball of weed, it was wet so I put it in the cup,” Gda O’Shea recalled him saying.

Mr Switaj said that when he opened another box, he found granules of different shapes and claimed he did not know what the substance was, adding it “smells weird” and burned his eyes when he brought it close to his nose.

He told gardaí he had found the packages on the same day near a church in Fermoy, in an area where he drank alcohol.

He said he planned to throw away the pink substance but intended to smoke the cannabis instead of drinking alcohol.

Mr Switaj also claimed the deal bags found were for fishing.

“I have more in my wardrobe with my fishing stuff,” he told gardaí.

He asked how he could be accused of selling drugs when the items were found in his home rather than on his person while selling on the street.

However, Garda O’Shea said he had observed known drug users arriving at Mr Switaj’s address and leaving again within minutes.

Defence solicitor Ciaran O’Keefe said his client had “turned a corner” and no longer associated with the same people.

Mr Switaj, a Polish national, came to Ireland for work but had encountered difficulties, Mr O’Keefe said. He is now employed in a near-permanent role with a recycling company, is on medication for anxiety, and rents a home in the town.

Mr O’Keefe said that while drugs were “bad news”, his client was not found with “thousands and thousands” of euro worth of drugs and suggested the cannabis was likely for personal use, as he was “in that place at that time.”

Judge Walsh said Mr Switaj was found with “two types of drugs and all the paraphernalia”, which “lends itself in fact to dealing in drugs.”

“And that can’t be dressed up any other way,” she said.

She added that many families suffer because of people who sell drugs to their children.

“The drugs you are dealing with can be fatal for people,” she said.

“Do you have any conscience in respect of your activities?” The defendant denied that he sold anyone any drugs.

Prosecuting inspector Tony O’Sullivan said Mr Switaj had six previous convictions, including for drug possession, threats to kill, assault, and obstruction.

Judge Walsh convicted him of possession of drugs for sale or supply and imposed a three-month jail sentence, suspended for 12 months.

Mr Switaj, of McDonagh Terrace, Fermoy, was also fined more than €500.