Estate Agent Turned Rental Into Cannabis Factory

Farm: Anerley Road Property

An estate agent, who turned a rental property into a cannabis factory, is starting a four-and-a-half year prison sentence.

Kyle Bolger, 28, exploited his role as ‘senior lettings negotiator’ to secretly rent the flat himself and set-up a £24,000 grow operation.

Police raided the property and seized forty-five cannabis plants, plus industrial heaters and fans, capable of producing 2.48 kilos of the drug.

Father-of-one Bolger, of Giffords Road, Willesden pleaded guilty to defrauding his employer, Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward Estate Agents, on June 11, last year by abusing his position.

He also pleaded guilty to being concerned in the production of cannabis at the address in Anerley Road, Anerley, south-east London and being concerned in the supply of cannabis.

Croydon Crown court heard officers executed a search warrant at the £415,000 two-bedroom flat, discovering Bolger’s fingerprint on some tape and his DNA on a mobile phone.

Prosecutor Robert Brown told the court: “The defendant was a letting agent for that address and used a third party to rent that property and sent that person money to pay the rent.

“The living-room was filled with cannabis plants and very hot fans and heaters that were curtained off and the electricity reading was very low, suggesting illegal extraction of electricity.” 

The police search revealed Bolger’s links to a storage unit in nearby Dylan Road, Herne Hill, where more cannabis-growing equipment was found, plus evidence of £10,000 of cocaine dealing.

Judge Antony Dunne told Bolger: “You were involved in a significant and sophisticated operation.

“At the time you held down a good job, but your life was going off the rails after splitting with the mother of your then six-month old son.

“You abused your employment at a letting agency and deceived your employers.

“When police officers searched the address they found a cannabis farm there. The address was on the books of a letting agency and you were a letting agent.

“You set up a cannabis farm that took up half of the front room with heaters and fans.” 

Despite the raid Bolger continued drug-dealing and on September 21, last year police pulled over his VW Golf in north-west London and found £3,000 worth of cocaine, weighing 31.9 grammes, on the front passenger seat.

Grow Operation In Living Room

His home was searched and multiple mobile phones were found, but he refused to divulge their PINs.

Bolger was arrested by police again on December 26 in Brownlow Road, Willesden when he was chased and threw away twelve wraps of heroin and twenty wraps of cocaine, worth £8,400.

His home was searched again and police found crack cocaine and heroin, plus scales, razors and bicarbonate drug cutting agent.

For these two sets of offences Bolger also pleaded guilty to multiple counts of possession of cocaine, with intent to supply; supplying cocaine and possession, with intent to supply, heroin.

His lawyer Anthony James told the court other criminal ran the cannabis grow operation. “He took the terrible decision to allow them to use his role to set up the cannabis farm.

“His role was facilitating the address, not the farm.”

Bolger has been remanded in custody since his Boxing Day arrest last year, enduring twenty-three hour a day lockdowns at HMP Wormwood Scrubs.

“You have pleaded guilty to three sets of offences over a six-month period and there was the expectation of significant financial advantage,” Judge Dunne told him.