A cannabis grower has denied using three different names and seven bank accounts to launder almost £140,000 of his profits.
Anthony Scouler was caught running a secret cannabis farm at a former shop in the centre of Barnstaple but says he was doing it of mystery men to whom he owed money.
A financial investigation uncovered £139,719 of unexplained payments into his bank accounts of which £89,000 were in cash, Exeter Crown Court was told.
Scouler was found with £1,320 cash and bags of cannabis in his freezer when his home in Bideford was raided but told police he earned the money legitimately as a carpenter and furniture restorer.
Scouler, aged 54, of Barton Road, Bideford, denies 14 counts of money laundering. The jury have been told he admits production of cannabis.
Mr Jonathan Barnes, prosecuting, said a raid on a former shop at 121 Boutport Street, Barnstaple, in May 2012 found evidence of a large scale cannabis farm which appeared to have been cropped recently.
There were two secret growing rooms, lights, timers, fans, trays and 112 growing plants. He said the electricity meter had been by-passed and a police expert estimated the potential yield at 9.58 kilograms, of which 5.9 kilograms would have been skunk.
He said the potential value of the crop in street deals would have been £74,820 but Scouler would have received less if he sold it in bulk.
Mr Barnes said:"The operation was not only potentially substantial but also very lucrative and is consistent with the sums of cash which we will be hearing about in this case.
"He was to tell the police he was growing for someone else to whom he was in debt and was not producing commercially to make money for himself. We do not accept that account."
He said cannabis and cash was found at Scouler's home as well as documents which sparked an investigation into his finances which delved back to 2006.
He said there were indications Scouler had been involved in growing drugs previously and that he used the other names of Strouler and Murphy.
He said:"The financial investigator traced what are described as unidentified lodgments, which are essentially unexplained credits which cannot be reconciled with legitimate income or transfers.
"There are numerous credits in cash. The total amount of unidentified lodgments are £139,719.13 and of these £89,639 are in cash."
The money was paid into accounts at seven different banks between July 2006 and May 2012.
Scouler denies money laundering. He says he was heavily in debt and had to set up new accounts and be paid in cash for his work because he had county court judgments against him.
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