Thomasz Pindel turned his life around after he was caught importing and manufacturing steroids in a clandestine underground laboratory.
Thomasz Pindel was operating “a one-man commercial enterprise” that imported raw steroid powder from Hong Kong and converted it into commercial quantities of finished injectable and oral steroids. But his time as the owner of a steroid underground laboratory (UGL) came to an abrupt end when he was arrested by the South Wales Police in March 2016.
The National Crime Agency (NSA) intercepted a parcel containing 3.2 kilograms of various raw steroid powers at the Coventry international mail center in 2015.
Pindel pursued path of “rehabilitation” after police found steroids, cocaine and ecstasy in his home.
When South Wales Police executed a search warrant on his Bridgend home, they found an additional 1.5 kilograms of steroids. He had paraphernalia consistent with the manufacture of anabolic steroid products including hundreds of 10-milliliter multi-use glass vials. To make matters worse, Pindel also had a personal supply of cocaine and ecstasy in his home.
Prosecutor Byron Broadstock told the Cardiff Crown Court that Pindel had been doing this for some time. The seizure of Pindel’s mobile phone provided investigators with evidence that he was engaged in the business of supplying others with steroids.
Police located less than £3,500 in cash at his home during the 2016 raid. The evidence did not seem to suggest that Pindel was engaged in a large-scale commercial enterprise. As such, prosecutors did not bother going after his assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
It took three years before Pindel was given a sentencing date. And Pindel made the most of it.
Pindel returned to the university and completed the course work necessary to become a “software engineer”. The newly gainfully-employed software engineer also became a family man after the birth of his daughter last year.
Pindel pleaded guilty to four counts of importing Class C anabolic steroids, three counts of possessing steroids with intent to supply and five counts of supplying steroids. He also pleaded guilty to one count of possessing Class A drugs cocaine and MDMA.
Cardiff Crown Court Judge Neil Bidder QC was impressed by Pindel’s accomplishments between his March 2016 arrest and his May 2019 sentencing. Pindel’s actions demonstrated that a “realistic prospect of rehabilitation” had been fulfilled.
Judge Bidder allowed Pindel to avoid prison by fully suspending his 22-month prison sentence by two years. Pindel agreed to forfeit the £3,500 seized during his arrest and to complete 220 hours of unpaid work.