Polish 'Liverpudlian' drug dealer who TORCHED his prison cell must be deported, tribunal rules

Published 30 October 2026, 13:53

• Filip Stasiuk, 26, went 'back to street dealing' while out on licence, an Upper Tribunal immigration ruling found.
• Behind bars, Stasiuk set fire to the bin in his cell 'in an effort to get out'.
• 'I realise now how much I have wasted my life,' the dealer told the tribunal, begging to stay with his mum.

A Polish man who has lived in Liverpool since the age of eight must be deported to Poland after an Upper Tribunal immigration ruling dismissed his appeal, finding that his repeated drug dealing — including while out on licence — outweighed his deep roots in the city.

Filip Stasiuk, 26, of Damwood Road, Liverpool, arrived in the UK in early 2008 with his mother, Mrs Katarzyna Ciszak, and was granted indefinite leave to remain in June 2021.

He attended school in Liverpool, earned qualifications in Maths, English, History, ICT and sciences at GCSE level, went on to complete a bricklaying apprenticeship, and holds a construction industry 'red card'.

Upper Tribunal Judge Bruce observed that Stasiuk and his sister both have strong Liverpool accents, and accepted that he "thinks of himself as a Liverpudlian rather than being Polish."

Stasiuk was first convicted at Chester Crown Court in July 2023 for possessing heroin and crack cocaine with intent to supply, receiving a 30-month sentence.

The First-tier Tribunal recorded that he "commenced dealing drugs when he was 17 and did so on and off until he was caught when he was 23," having started using cannabis at 13.

After his release on licence, officers from Widnes Proactive CID spotted him acting suspiciously as a passenger in a silver Chrysler on Henderson Road, Widnes, on 5 June 2025.

Police found £270 cash and an iPhone containing messages proving active involvement in selling cocaine and cannabis, along with a strong smell of cannabis masked by excessive air fresheners.

Stasiuk was sentenced to 38 months at Liverpool Crown Court on 7 July 2025 for being concerned in the supply of Class A and Class B drugs.

PC Nicholls of Widnes Proactive CID said Stasiuk "is a convicted County Lines drug dealer who made the mistake of believing he could pick up where he left off."

Stasiuk told the tribunal he had returned to dealing because the Home Office had withdrawn his right to work, leaving him unable to use his construction qualifications.

"I realise now how much I have wasted my life — I just want to be there for my mum and grandma," he said.

His mother warned that "people are not open like they are in the UK and that without anyone to help him settle in he will find it very hard to integrate."

Judge Bruce acknowledged that Stasiuk was socially and culturally integrated in the UK, yet concluded there were no very significant obstacles to his reintegration in Poland. The judge pointed out that Stasiuk had become fluent in English within a year of arriving in the UK, and saw no reason he could not relearn Polish.

The judge dismissed the family's argument that he would "simply not know where to start," calling it "the reality faced by many young migrants across the world."

On the question of whether compelling circumstances could override the public interest in deportation, Judge Bruce acknowledged Stasiuk's guilty pleas, prison rehabilitation courses including the 'Stop Supplying' workbook and Relapse Prevention, and a difficult childhood marked by an absent father.

But the judge ruled that "the evidence in this case, even considered cumulatively, does not come close to surmounting" the legal hurdle, finding that "having been released on licence, and having persuaded the First-tier Tribunal to allow his appeal, the Appellant showed further disregard for the law and public interest by going back to street dealing."