Aspiring air stewardess stashed gun for ‘gangster boyfriend’
A TEENAGER sobbed as she was jailed for stashing a handgun and bullets in her bedroom drawer for her ‘mobster boyfriend.’
Aspiring air hostess Alicja Kolkowska was only 19-years-old when officers raided her home.
Her stepfather discovered the Browning .22 calibre pistol while cleaning her room and contacted police.
At Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court yesterday, Kolkowska’s lawyer claimed the firearm was like something ‘Captain Jack Sparrow might use in the Pirates of the Caribbean films.’
The gun was found dismantled in a yellow JD Sports bag, but when assembled was test fired by police and found to be in ‘perfect’ working order, a judge was told.
Kolkowska, from Rochdale, was later arrested after being summoned home from work at JD Sports where she worked as a shop assistant.
She claimed she had been asked to look after the gun for an unnamed boyfriend who was involved in a drugs racket.
She has now been jailed for two years.
Judge Paul Lawton told her: “You are an extremely foolish young woman.
“You may not have been sure of the seriousness of this gun and the criminality it can carry with it – but you were concealing it on behalf of your boyfriend.
“You yourself didn’t know what it was going to be used for and I believe you have a low risk of reoffending – but you must face an immediate custodial sentence.”
The discovery was made in August last year while Kolkowska was at work and her stepfather, former serviceman Steven Wright, was cleaning her bedroom at their home. Prosecuting, Justin Goode, said: “Mr Wright helped with the chores around the house on his days off and was doing some cleaning.
“Mr Wright went into the defendant’s room and cleared the rubbish up only to notice the bottom drawer of three drawers was ajar.
“He tried to close it with his foot but it wouldn’t close as something was restricting it.
“He pulled the whole drawer out to have a better look at what was blocking it and heard some metal clanging.
“Pushed to the back of the drawer was two plastic bags. One of the bags contained .22 calibre bullets, and the other bag contained bits of metal.
“At a first glance, you would have thought they were tools.
“However, as Mr Wright served previously in the armed forces, he was able to use the bits of metal and built up the pistol which confirmed to him that this was a working, functional firearm.” He rang the police, the court heard. Kolkowska, now 20, admitted possessing a firearm and ammunition. Her barrister, Robert Elias, said his client wanted to have ‘a career in the airline,’ adding: “This gun is hardly new, it was rusty and old, and posed no threat of intimidation or fear.
“It looked like something you would see Captain Jack Sparrow use out of the Pirates of the Caribbean films. “She knew what it was, but she had no intention of using it. “She does not know what the firearm was going to be used for, but one can only assume it was related to the drugs rackets her boyfriend was involved in.
“She is an extremely naive girl and knew nothing about the purpose of the gun.”