A man accused of involvement in a drug ring which the Crown says operated from within Rimutaka Prison has begun giving evidence in his own defence.
Gavin Doar and four others are before the High Court in Wellington on several charges, including importing methamphetamine.
Mr Doar told the court that in 2004 he met up with a relative who was in jail and that person was later paroled to his home.
He said he opened a post office box after some mail went missing and also set up a TAB account for his relative, who had trouble opening a bank account when he came out of jail.
The Crown says the post office box and TAB account were both connected with the drug dealing operation.
