Pubdate: Fri, 25 Jul 2003
Source: Royal Gazette, The (Bermuda)
Copyright: 2003 The Royal Gazette Ltd.
Contact:  http://www.theroyalgazette.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2103
Author: Catherine Hay
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)

DRUG IMPORTER: I WANTED TO PAY FOR MY DAUGHTER'S OPERATION

A Polish father claimed yesterday he imported $270,000 worth of cocaine to 
pay for an operation for his young daughter.

But Marius Orlowski's "sad story" failed to stop Acting Assistant Justice 
Archibald Warner sending him to Westgate for seven years.

Orlowski, who cannot speak English, apologised through a Polish interpreter 
and in a prepared statement translated for Supreme Court said: "I know the 
court will have a hard time believing what I'm saying but I was guided 
completely by the well being of my daughter. My wife with whom I'm 
separated left for America. And left the child with me."

The statement went on to say that in order to correct a birth defect the 
young girl required an operation on her legs every few years costing 
$5,000-$8,000 each time.

But despite Orlowski's "sad story" Mr. Justice Warner said that his 
sentencing "was not a question of lack of compassion but merely observing 
the high court's judgements. So little can be given in these circumstances 
and the little that can be given will be given." According to a previous 
Court of Appeals' decision, a judge can give only limited consideration 
when sentencing a parent who commits a crime to provide for a sick child.

"The courts can't have a sentimental view," added Mr. Justice Warner.

But Mr. Justice Warner said that he did weigh up Orlowski's guilty plea as 
well as his co-operation with Police in considering his sentence for a 
crime which carried a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

On October 6 last year Orlowski was arrested based on specific information 
given to Police, when he arrived on a flight from New York's JFK airport. 
After Police had searched him and his bags, Orlowski was taken to King 
Edward VII Memorial Hospital for an abdominal X-ray.

The X-ray revealed foreign objects were present in his abdomen and over the 
course of the next four days Orlowski excreted 103 cream coloured pellets. 
Upon examination the pellets were found to contain 1,017 grammes of cocaine 
with a 68 percent purity.

Later, in an interview with Police, the defendant admitted that he had been 
recruited in Poland to fly to Jamaica and from there to import drugs to 
Bermuda.

Yesterday Orlowski's lawyer Elizabeth Christopher said that in addition to 
his admission to the crime, Orlowski had given Police information on the 
"limited operation" he was involved with in which Europeans were used as 
drug mules.

According to Ms Christopher Orlowski provided Police with "the blue prints" 
which resulted in the arrest of two Dutch women on October 22 for drug 
importation.

In light of these circumstances, Ms Christopher asked for a sentence of 
five to seven years for Orlowski.

But Crown counsel Anthony Blackman denied that the arrest of the two women 
was in anyway assisted by the defendant and cited that the usual sentence 
for drug importation of this magnitude was 10-12 years imprisonment.

Mr. Justice Warner said he had taken into consideration "the few mitigating 
factors" of the case in his sentencing but also had to way up the large 
street value of the drug as well as the "aggravating fashion" it was imported.
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