A report to police of a possible burglary in progress led officers to unearth a valuable cannabis factory.
The haul of 428 plants found was potentially worth between £100,000 and £300,000 - if the crop had fully grown and been sold.
Nottingham Crown Court was told three males went to the front door of the property and fled when they saw police inside.
The only one to be caught was Gledis Xha, an illegal immigrant who came to this country on the back of a lorry.
He worked in car washes, then became a gardener to the crop, because he had a £4,000 debt over money sent home to pay for his grandfather's funeral.
Jonathan Straw, prosecuting, said Xha - who was assisted with translation by an Albanian interpreter in the dock - had documentation on him in different names.
"One was Italian which matched other documents in the property in the same name," said Mr Straw.
It is now accepted he was a gardener, said Mr Straw, and there was no evidence he was acting under any form of pressure and or threat.
He said a glass panel had been smashed at the property which was in fact "a significant cannabis factory" and cannabis production was over both floors.
Plants were at "all stages of maturity", he said, and rooms were lined, hydroponic lights were illuminated to assist the grow which was manually watered.
Xha, 27, whose address is Alfreton Road, was described by his barrister, Steve Gosnell, as "performing a limited function under direction" and said he "just wants to go back to Albania".
Judge James Sampson sent him to prison for 20 months after he pleaded guilty to producing cannabis.
"If it is appropriate to do so, I recommend deportation," he said to Xha in the dock.
And he described the cannabis as "not just a few plants, but 428 plants".
"There were lights, there were timers," he said.
"There was cannabis at different stages of growth. You were what is known as 'a gardener', but you must have been fully aware of the scale of the operation.
"This kind of operation blights communities. It causes crime. It attracts criminals."
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