Burglars sentenced for cannabis cultivation break-in

Four men who broke into a house in Folkestone which was being used to grow cannabis have been sentenced as part of Kent Police's work tackling organised crime.

Local officers quickly responded to reports of a disturbance at the property in Pavilion Road at 11.50pm on Wednesday 12 April 2023.

They arrived at the scene and found four men inside the property, one of whom was holding a machete. The four were quickly detained and arrested.

Quick arrests

A further search of the three-storey house uncovered around 150 cannabis plants, as well as harvested cannabis, further weapons and unsafe arrangements to illegally extract electricity.

A fifth man, who is believed to have been minding the property for those behind the cultivation, was found hiding in the loft and he was also arrested.

Enquiries established the four men arrested in the building's hallway had travelled down from London with a view to stealing the building's contents.

Court

Adem Kavosoglu, Robert McKinley, Michael Greatorex and Cuma Delioglu were all later charged with aggravated burglary and all four admitted the offence of burglary at court.

At Canterbury Crown Court on Wednesday 13 November 2024:

• Greatorex, 44, of Arlington Road, Camden, north London, was sentenced to 22 months.

• Kavosoglu, 45, of Barretts Grove, Dalston, east London, was given an 18 month jail term.

• McKinley, 38, of George Street, Paisley, was sentenced to time served and a two year community order.

• Delioglu, 36, of Northumberland Park, Tottenham, north London, was given a two year community order.

A 22-year-old man was previously given a suspended sentence for producing a class B drug.

Tackling organised crime

PC Damien Dixon, Kent Police's investigating officer, said:

'It is clear that the organisers of this offence knew that the property contained a large amount of illegal drugs and travelled into Kent to commit crime. 'I would like to praise the bravery of local officers, who were quickly on scene and arrested five people, disarming one of a machete. 'Kent Police will not tolerate organised criminals using the county to produce, store or deal drugs and will continue to bring them before courts so they can be taken off our streets.'