Martin Trevor de Lautour illegally traded 600 kilograms of tobacco, but says he only gave away methamphetamine to friends.

A man nicknamed The Wizard says $200,000 found in a military-style medical box was going to be used for tax if his sizeable illegal tobacco dealing business was busted.

Martin Trevor de Lautour says he illegally sold 150 kilograms of tobacco a year, but denies selling methamphetamine, claiming he was going to give away the excess of his monthly supply to friends at his upcoming birthday party.

That party never came, however, as police busted him the day before his 66th birthday.

Now 67, de Lautour was in the Palmerston North District Court on Tuesday for a disputed facts hearing.

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GOOGLE MAPS Police found large volumes of cash and tobacco when they searched Martin Trevor de Lautour's Ashhurst property.

He earlier pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine for supply and selling tobacco without paying Customs duty.

But he denies police assertions he was selling methamphetamine, hence the need for Tuesday's hearing.

Detective Constable Shaun Murphy said de Lautour, also known as The Wizard, was at his Ashhurst home when police searched various properties on December 10, 2018.

A cavity in a coffee table contained 28.5 grams of methamphetamine, while cash was found in his sock draw, a hollowed-out German dictionary, a birthday card in a friend's bag and random dressers.

He had a wallet on him, containing $4740, while the $200,000 in a military medical box was stashed at his sister's house next door.

A total of $212,640 was found.

Although police also found a small amount of cannabis in a tin, the biggest score was in de Lautour's garage – 61.18 kilograms of processed tobacco.

The tobacco was packaged in various ways, including half-kilo amounts in bread bags.

De Lautour had security cameras at the front and back of his house, linked to television screens in his lounge.

Murphy said police had been tipped off by an informant, while the scales and packaging found at the house indicated commercial methamphetamine dealing.

But there were no text messages or other data showing de Lautour was using a phone to deal methamphetamine, and no tick list of people needing to pay debts, Murphy said.

That was despite the scales not being able to do weights below a gram. Methamphetamine is often sold in 0.1g quantities.

Detective Karen Heald, the officer in charge of the Manawatū organised crime unit, said she had never seen such large-scale tobacco dealing in her 30-year policing career.

"I've never heard of it around the office, or in the Manawatū area... even throughout the district."

De Lautour said he got into dealing tobacco when his firewood business ended when he was in his early-60s.

He started buying tobacco illegally for personal use, then sold it when people found out how cheap he got it.

"By the end of the firewood I had a good thing going with tobacco."

He would buy 50kg at a time, store it in bins in his shed to ensure it did not rot, then sell it for $1 per gram.

He could sell up to 10kg a week and estimated he bought 600kg during his four-year dealing career.

He put aside the $200,000 as tax money, just in case Inland Revenue assessed his income, he said.

De Lautour bought methamphetamine from an associate for $10,000 an ounce, which would last him six months.

He divided it into smaller bags to be used a week at a time and any excess would be saved up to be given away at his birthday party.

"I have never sold meth. Tobacco was a better commercial deal."

The security cameras and a starting pistol found in his room were for his personal safety, as he had been subject to a home invasion.

Judge Stephanie Edwards will give a decision on Wednesday.