Rocco Arico is alleged to have made threats to Arthur Vouthas and his family members in 2014 and 2015 unless he was paid back money he was owed, after a 2010 drug deal between Mr Vouthas and Toby Mitchell went wrong.

The County Court has heard Mr Vouthas bought one kilogram of cocaine for $350,000 from Mr Arico and sold it to Mitchell for $375,000. But Mr Vouthas was left owing Mr Arico when Mitchell took the drugs without paying.

Mr Arico, 38, has pleaded not guilty to three counts of extortion and single charges of intentionally causing injury and recklessly causing injury, related to an allegation he punched Mr Vouthas in September 2014. Mr Arico has also pleaded not guilty to one charge of trafficking a commercial quantity of a drug of dependence.

On Wednesday, the jury was played recorded telephone calls between Mr Arico and Mr Vouthas, in which the former accused his associate of stalling on the debt, which by 2014 stood at $110,000.

In the calls, Mr Vouthas said he could not sell his home and pay the money because of caveats put on the home by others.

In a February 14, 2015, call, Mr Arico told Mr Vouthas that a builder who put on a caveat would sue Mr Vouthas and wife Stacey to recoup the money.

Three days later, Mr Vouthas called Mr Arico to arrange a meeting so the debt could be paid "once and for all", the jury heard.

Mr Vouthas told the court police had instructed him to arrange the meeting, and given him $25,000 to take to Mr Arico.

Mr Vouthas also wore a recording device. In a recording of the February 19, 2015, meeting in Brunswick, Mr Arico said he and the builder had made fake bids when Mr Vouthas' home was at auction.

The sale later fell through because of the caveats, the trial has heard.

"I went out of the way to fix the f---ing house for you [to] sell," Mr Arico told Mr Vouthas.

"I put the bids in. The illegal bids, me and [the builder] were in the auction. We put the price up by about forty thousand.

"And then we hung around the front for half an hour to make it look like we want to buy it, and he agreed to nine ninety [thousand].Otherwise it stopped at nine sixty. Ask the f---ing agent."

During the Brunswick meeting, Mr Arico called on Mr Vouthas to take his wife to the Commonwealth Bank in Carlton so Mr Arico could arrange a loan for them to pay off the debt.

Mr Arico told the dealer if he wanted to do "something to you, I could do it easily", the court heard.

"I don't want to do nothing to you. I just want the money, mate.

"I've known you and your family nearly all my life. I don't want to have dramas, but you put me in the position where you make me have dramas 'cause you lie."

He told Mr Vouthas to put the $25,000 in his (Mr Arico's) car. The trial continues.