Man claimed £30,000 came from crab trading
Mark Harrington, who is accused of laundering tens of thousands of pounds in cash from alleged drug dealing, drew the money out of his savings account to use as a deposit to buy the property, the jury at Plymouth Crown Court heard.
"The money I had saved over the years selling fish, crabs and bikes," he said.
Harrington said when he was squatting in London, he would travel down to Salcombe once a week to buy crab then transport it back to the capital to sell on to restaurants and wholesalers.
"I diversified when I moved down here," he said.
"I did cars, bikes, boats and I was still selling crab. I got into this lifestyle of just buying and selling."
Harrington is charged with eight counts of possessing, concealing and transferring criminal property contrary to the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Seven counts involve cash and one count includes assets including a BMW, RIB and Harley Davidson.
Previous searches of his house by police also uncovered £10,000 cash in the garage and £400 in the kitchen.
Giving evidence, Harrington said the money came from selling fish.
"I had some money in the garage. It came from fishing, crab and wheeling and dealing.
"I don't recall the £400 but it more than likely would have been fish money."
Harrington also said that a £3,000 Suzuki motorbike found at his property was hand built by himself and a yellow bike worth around £300 belonged to someone else as did a Land Rover and a rubber dinghy.
When asked why, during one police search, he picked up around £2,000 in cash which was lying in a fruit bowl and ran into nearby fields, Harrington said: "I was being stopped, searched and pursued by the police so many times I had enough of it."
The court also heard that a balaclava recovered during a police search belonged to Julian Drew, a friend of Harrington.
The trial continues.
