Police investigating a suspected burglary discovered 171 cannabis plants with a potential value of more than £100,000 when they visited the house.
Fabio Balliu, 23, a chef, was arrested at the property in Spring Gardens, Gainsborough, after officers were initially alerted at 2am by a suspicious neighbour who believed a burglary was taking place.
Officers attended at 10am the following day and could immediately smell cannabis coming from inside the property and the sound of electric fans, Lincoln Crown Court heard.
Balliu unlocked the front door and ran from the property but was stopped and arrested.
He told the officers: “Okay, I’m from Albania. My English isn’t good.”
Police found a living area in the front room with a couch bed and empty freezer which suggested the grower was possibly not living in the property.
Three growing areas were found in the house, with 87 cannabis plants in the flowering stage, and 84 cannabis plants in a vegetative state.
Police also searched Balliu’s home address in Nottinghamshire and found receipts from a DIY store in Sutton-in-Ashfield.
A drugs expert estimated the potential value of the cannabis at between £24,500 and £102,600 depending on the quantity and how it was sold.
Balliu, of Main Street, Huthwaite, near Mansfield, admitted producing cannabis and was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment.
Passing sentence Judge Simon Hirst told Balliu: “You were detained while fleeing from the property.
“There were 171 plants spread out over three growing areas.
“You played a significant role and regularly travelled from Nottinghamshire to Gainsborough to tend this grow.”
The court heard that the police were first called about the prospective burglary at 2am on May 17 last year and attended at 10am on May 18.
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