The District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica has concluded an investigation into an organized criminal group involved in illegally organizing gambling on gaming machines, supplying narcotic drugs and fencing. The defendants are 30 people: 22 women and 8 men. Twenty-five people were charged with participation in a criminal group. The others will face charges of fencing and aiding the organization of illegal games, as well as aiding theft.
– The group’s core consisted of four people. Its creator and leader was 42-year-old Kamil S., nicknamed Cygaro. Its core membership also included 51-year-old repeat offender Ryszard B., 24-year-old Patryk T. and 29-year-old Denis L. – says Liliana Łukasiewicz, press spokesperson for the District Prosecutor’s Office in Legnica. – The remaining people occupied low positions in the hierarchy and mainly carried out the above-mentioned persons’ orders.
The group operated in the Głogów and Góra counties from at least May 25, 2021, to May 31, 2023.
The group’s main activity was organizing illegal gambling. Five premises were obtained for this purpose—four in Głogów and one in Góra—where 13 gaming machines were installed. Prosecutor:
The premises were adapted for this activity so that the windows were covered with special film, which prevented anyone from looking inside while allowing those inside to observe what was happening outside. Cameras and monitoring systems were installed to supervise the work of the mainly female employees. Group members kept watch and informed the venue staff by telephone whenever they noticed ununiformed Police or Customs and Tax Service officers nearby. Customers were also checked whenever staff had doubts about whether a customer was “trusted.”
Ryszard B. and Patryk T. were mainly responsible for settling the machines, ensuring that the premises had an adequate cash reserve for winnings, supplying alcohol to customers and repairing the machines. In more serious matters, such as hiring employees or transferring them to another venue, Kamil S. made the decisions as the leader. People lower down in the group, hired to operate the machines in the gaming venues, usually had no contact with him.
The group’s activities ended on May 31, 2023, as a result of a large-scale operation conducted by the Police and the Customs and Tax Service, preceded by months of operational work. At that time, all gaming venues were searched simultaneously. Thirteen machines, cash totaling more than PLN 170,000 and documentation kept at the venues—including work schedules, records of winnings paid out and cash-on-hand records—were seized.
At the same time, the organizers of the criminal activity were arrested and their homes were searched.
From the defendants Kamil S. and his partner, Katarzyna M., investigators seized, among other things, nearly PLN 37,000 in cash. From Patryk T., they seized, among other things, more than PLN 48,000 in cash and a baseball bat. They also discovered PLN 70,000 and more than EUR 3,000 that he had thrown out of his apartment. From defendant Ryszard B., they seized drugs and 9 mm ammunition, as well as more than PLN 21,000 in cash.
During the proceedings, expert evidence was obtained concerning the examination of gambling devices. The experts found that players had loaded the gaming machines with a total of PLN 2,430,407, while payouts made by the staff amounted to PLN 1,608,194. The profit from the games alone was PLN 822,213.
It was established that alcoholic beverages were served at the premises where gaming machines were operated without the license required by law.
Alongside their illegal gaming-machine operation, defendants Kamil S., Patryk T., Ryszard B., Katarzyna M. and Karolina L. (five people) also supplied narcotic and psychotropic substances.
Liliana Łukasiewicz:
The people selling and supplying drugs took precautions in their contacts with buyers. During telephone conversations and in SMS messages, they used slang and substitute terms such as “green shorts,” “stone,” “beer” and “coffee.” Among other things, this helped investigators, with the assistance of an expert in drug slang, establish the group of people supplied with narcotic substances, the quantities and prices, and the types of drugs sold.
Not just gambling, alcohol and drugs
The gaming venues were also involved in fencing, namely accepting items originating from shoplifting. It was established that the venue employees—on the orders of Patryk T. and his mother, Alina D.—mainly accepted chocolates, sweets and alcohol, as well as cleaning products and cosmetics. The goods were purchased for approximately half price.
The evidence gathered in the case made it possible to bring charges against the defendants. They were also in possession of dangerous items. Baseball bats, a knuckleduster and ammunition were found during searches of their apartments. The above-mentioned individuals also took actions aimed at committing crimes against life and health.
Most of the defendants—those low in the criminal group’s hierarchy who worked at the venues operating the gaming machines—admitted to the crimes of which they were accused. Ryszard B. also admitted to some of them. The remaining defendants denied committing the crimes and exercised their right to refuse to provide explanations.
The defendants will mainly face charges of organizing and conducting gambling without a license to operate gaming-machine activities and without the machines being registered by the competent head of the customs and tax office. As part of the division of roles within the criminal group, they rented five premises in Głogów and Góra, provided money for winnings and alcoholic beverages, collected funds obtained from players’ deposits from the gaming machines, and hired, paid and supervised people who admitted customers to the venues, operated the machines and sold alcoholic beverages to players without the required authorization, making the fiscal offense a permanent source of income.
They will also be held responsible for facilitating other people’s prohibited act of serving and selling alcoholic beverages without the required authorization. They did so by supplying the employees operating the machines with alcoholic beverages, which the employees served free of charge and, above one serving, sold for PLN 5 per beer or so-called drink to people playing the machines.
Five of the defendants will face charges of repeatedly supplying narcotic and psychotropic substances for payment, personally as well as jointly and in agreement with other people.
Repeat offender Ryszard B. was additionally charged with driving under the influence of narcotic substances, failing to comply with a court driving ban, possessing drugs and ammunition, fencing and inciting another person to assault someone.
His partner, 37-year-old Karolina L., also a repeat offender and a mother of four, will face charges—besides the above-mentioned fiscal offenses—along with the group leader’s partner, 36-year-old Katarzyna M., for supplying narcotic substances to other people.
Organizing illegal gambling is punishable by a fine of 10 to 720 daily rates (in 2021, a daily rate ranged from PLN 93.33 to PLN 37,333) or imprisonment of up to three years, or both penalties combined. Two people will face charges for this offense.
If an offender makes committing fiscal offenses a permanent source of income, the court may impose an extraordinary increase in the penalty, meaning a sentence up to twice the statutory maximum, in this case up to six years’ imprisonment. Twenty-four people will face charges for this offense.
Supplying another person with a narcotic substance for financial gain is punishable by one to ten years’ imprisonment. Five defendants will face charges for this offense.
Twenty-five people will face charges of participation in an organized criminal group under Article 258 § 1 of the Criminal Code, which independently carries a penalty of three months to five years’ imprisonment (for the period 2021–2023).
Selling or serving alcoholic beverages in breach of regulations on sobriety education and counteracting alcoholism is punishable by a fine.
The case will be heard by the District Court in Legnica.