A man who lost his job and then his flat during the Covid pandemic ended up addicted to drugs and working on behalf of a London crime gang, a court has heard.
Adrian Simjak was caught red-handed by police in Swansea with 45 ready-to-sell wraps of heroin and crack cocaine hidden up the sleeve of his jacket. An examination of his phone showed he had been in contact with a so-called county lines drugs operation and was operating as a "runner".
Sending the defendant to prison, a judge told him he had been caught with two "particularly insidious" drugs which he had been selling in the city on behalf of a London gang.
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Brian Simpson, prosecuting, told Swansea Crown Court that shortly before 5pm on April 25 this year police officers saw the defendant walking on Dillwyn Street in Swansea city centre and heading for St Helen's Road. He said police were suspicious as they had seen Simjak in the area the previous day in the company of known drug users, and so they stopped him.
The court heard that when the defendant was searched he was found to have 30 £10-deals of crack cocaine and 15 £20-deals of heroin hidden up the sleeve of his jacket. An examination of the 35-year-old's phone showed calls to and from a number which police recognised as being that of a London-based county lines drugs gang dubbed the T-line, which is currently under investigation.
Adrian Robert Simjak, of The Strand, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to possession of heroin with intent to supply and possession of cocaine with intent to supply when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has six previous convictions for 11 offences including production of cannabis. His last conviction, for offences of shoplifting from Sainsbury's in Swansea, was in March this year.
Andrew Evans, for Simjak, said the defendant was a Polish national who moved to the UK in 2010 and worked in construction in west Wales including, latterly, for the firm Hydrock. He said his client lost his job when the pandemic struck and that resulted in him losing his flat and becoming homeless, and he then began associating with people who used Class A drugs and himself became addicted. The advocate said Simjak found himself living in a homeless hostel in Swansea and was "enlisted" by a London-based county lines gang to be a "runner" and their "man on the streets" dealing with addicts.
Judge Paul Thomas KC said Simjak had been caught red-handed with two "particularly insidious" drugs and evidence from the defendant's phone showed he had been selling those "evil goods" for a London gang. With a one-quarter discount for his guilty pleas, Simjak was sentenced to three years in prison - the defendant will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community.
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