An electrician being investigated for fraud was also found to have £14,000 worth of cannabis in his garden.
The cannabis factory was found when police arrested Kevin Turner for making false insurance claims for power tools.
Turner, 30, submitted four claims to insurers Zurich between December 2012 and June 2013, each time stating thieves had broken into his work van.
He received £15,000 in total, but when he made a fourth identical claim, suspicions were raised and the company discovered he had submitted the same photograph of damage to his van for each report and forged receipts for tools.
Turner was arrested at his home in Silver End, where detectives found an outbuilding containing 53 mature cannabis plants, with an estimated street value of up to £14,000.
Turner was jailed for 20 months at Basildon Crown Court on Tuesday after admitting producing controlled Class B drugs and four counts of fraud by false representation.
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