Man and woman on organised crime charges
The court heard an organised crime gang was alleged being run from inside prison
A CRIMINAL gang with links to organised crime groups across Europe was being directed from inside an Irish prison by a Polish national serving a nine-and-a-half-year sentence, who was allegedly using phones smuggled into his cell to run the operation, Carlow District Court heard.
Two Carlow residents are among eight people who appeared before courts across Ireland last Wednesday as part of a major garda operation targeting the gang’s activities across the midlands and east of Ireland.
Fabian Sendyk (48) of 5A Bestfield, Carlow and Agata Margielska (32) of 160 The Laurels, Tullow Road, Carlow appeared before Carlow District Court on Wednesday 25 June charged in connection with the gang’s activities.
A detective told the court that the gang was involved in the possession and distribution of controlled drugs, as well as firearms trafficking and money laundering, among other illegal activities.
Ms Margielska faced seven charges, including two counts under section 15A of the , which is the most serious drugs supply charge in Irish law, as well as a charge under section 72 of the , which relates to participation in the activities of a criminal organisation. The remaining charges, which include possession and possession with intent to supply, date from February.
Mr Sendyk faced a single charge under section 72 of the as substituted by section 6 of the . A garda told the court that when Mr Sendyk was arrested and brought to Carlow Garda Station, he said: “I was just a driver, courier. I don’t know this is some kind of group.”
The arrests were made as part of Operation Tara, a joint investigation by the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau (GNDOCB) and the Carlow Drugs Unit, which has been running since November 2024. Last Wednesday’s arrests followed a number of earlier arrests made as part of the same investigation between February and April.
The state indicated that Ms Margielska’s matters would be tried on indictment, meaning the cases will be heard before a higher court before a jury.
Ms Margielska was remanded in custody. Mr Sendyk, who will appear via video link, was also remanded in custody. Both cases were adjourned until 1 July.
