Tearful Busby told Nottingham Crown Court how his 19-year-old son Adam had hung himself in woods near the family home in Clipstone on 28th June 2006. Adam's twin brother, also named Carl, hanged himself from the same tree 18 months later.

The drugs were found at Busby's Forest Road home on 4th January 2007 when he was arrested during a series of raids by police investigating money laundering and the distribution of millions of pounds worth of Class A drugs by alleged drugs general Gary Hardy.

Busby (45), who bought the drugs from Illusions nightclub in Mansfield, has no previous criminal convictions and has consistently denied laundering hundreds of thousands of pounds on behalf of Hardy.

He is alleged to have paid around £1.5m into the personal and business bank accounts of Gary Hardy, which prosecutors say is the proceeds of Hardy's drugs empire.

Busby, who prosecutors have dubbed 'Mr Money', first began working for Hardy at Birchwood Lane Motors in 1998 as an odd jobs man.

He moved to Apex Windows in Kirkby when the car dealership closed in 2001, and then for Hardy's rental house business G.H. Properties.

Busby, who used to work at Clipstone Colliery as a welder, began to collect rents for Hardy across Ashfield and slowly worked his way up to become Hardy's financial manager.

Prosecutor Richard Latham told the court how Busby, who married his second wife Kelly in 2007, was fully aware of where the money came from and the criminal activities of Gary Hardy.

But Busby said he was innocent and was just a rent collector who picked up rents on the instructions of Hardy, before banking it in his accounts.

Both Busby and Gary Hardy, of The Copse, Mansfield, deny money laundering charges between 1st April 2003 and 4th January 2007.

Gary Hardy denies one charge of conspiracy to supply heroin, one charge of conspiracy to supply cocaine, one charge of conspiracy to supply amphetamines and four counts of conspiracy to supply cannabis between 1st January 2000 and 5th January 2007.

Gary Hardy also denies a separate charge of having £14,000-worth of cash gained through criminal activities in his possession on 23rd May 2003.

(Proceeding)