David Southall, 48, and two unknown accomplices stole the cargo after they cut through a fence at a freight depot off Oxwich Road in Newport.
The defendant was arrested some 60 miles away on the M5 near Worcester after a pursuit involving a helicopter and a stinger being placed on the road.
The thieves had “scouted out” their target before arriving in their own truck and attaching the trailer to it.
They struck at around 8.20pm on Sunday, February 8 with Southall being arrested around an hour later bound for Walsall in the West Midlands.
Alex Orndal, prosecuting, said: “When he was arrested, the defendant told the police, ‘I’ve done this before.’
“He added that he had been acting under duress because of a drug debt.”
Southall wouldn’t name names when he was asked who he owed the money to.
Cardiff Crown Court heard that stealing lorry trailers is a “very profitable” multi-million pound racket for organised crime gangs in the UK.
It is considered a “low risk, high reward” type of offending.
The defendant, from Walsall, but whose address was given in court as Ystrad Mynach police station, pleaded guilty to burglary.
He has five previous convictions for 10 offences, including aggravated vehicle taking and possession of a bladed article in public.
Southhall, represented by Dan Jones, had taken steps to beat his addiction since being remanded in custody for more than five weeks and was now drug free, it was heard.
Judge Vanessa Francis told the defendant: “This was a sophisticated operation and you played an important part in making it work.”
He was jailed for 12 months with the sentence suspended for 18 months.
Southall must carry out 50 hours of unpaid work and complete a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
The defendant was made the subject of a six-month drug rehabilitation activity requirement and has to pay a victim surcharge.
