An asylum seeker acting as a gardener at a Lewisham cannabis factory said he was trying to pay off his almost £9,000 debt for being smuggled into the UK.
Police busted into an address in Lewisham on the afternoon of June 26 after they received intelligence that it was linked to drugs.
Arjan Bregaj, 42, was seen walking out of the back door and was detained by police.
Inside the property, officers found 43 cannabis plants in what would have been the master bedroom and a further 40 plants in a side room.
Bregaj appeared at Woolwich Crown Court on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to producing a controlled drug.
The court heard he was operating as a gardener and had no role in the wider conspiracy.
He told authorities that when he came to the UK illegally, those who helped him told him he must pay €10,000 ( £8,606) in three months which led to him making poor decisions.
Bregaj said he is remorseful and hopes to work in the construction industry when he gains the right to work in the UK.
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Recorder Clodaghmuire Callinan, sentencing, said: “I take into account that to a certain extent.
“Your vulnerability was exploited – that vulnerability was you being in the country illegally.”
He was sentenced to six months in custody, as he has been on remand for three months he is likely to be released immediately.