Gun-plot accused Justin Calderon told a jury that he helped his "close friend" Kershun Dublin to move a toolbox at the centre of the alleged crime, and later lied to Police about the incident.

However, Calderon insisted that he only lied because he was nervous after Police swarmed his neighbourhood looking for the box not because he thought he'd done anything wrong.

He and Dublin, who are both 25, stand accused along with Arthur Vanlowe-Dill, 45, of being involved in an international conspiracy that saw the toolbox arrive at the airport by courier last April 28. It had four handguns, 164 bullets and $25,000 of cannabis concealed inside, but the contraband was discovered by a Customs sniffer dog.

The Police removed the illegal items and put the package back into circulation at DHL, monitoring it to see what happened next. The accused trio, who are all from Pembroke, admit helping move the box around that parish after it was picked up from DHL last May 8, but all deny knowing there was anything illegal in it.

Dublin told the court on Friday that he encountered Vanlowe-Dill outside DHL on the date in question, and offered to transport the box to his friend Treddy's house in his friend Tianna Paiva's car, since Vanlowe-Dill could not fit it on the bike he was riding.

Taking the stand to give evidence in his own defence yesterday morning, Calderon said he was on his way to see his friend Treadwell Gibbons (aka Treddy) when he encountered Dublin, who was sitting in the passenger seat of a car driven by Ms Paiva.

He told the court that Dublin asked him to help lift the box out of the car and that they initially took it to Mr. Gibbons' house. However, when it became clear that Mr. Gibbons was out, Calderon said he agreed to Dublin's suggestion that they take it to a shed at his house instead.

Prosecution witnesses have told the jury that the box was eventually discovered by the Police at the back of the shed, hidden under some trash and wrapped in a sheet. Calderon said he left it to Dublin to position the item in the shed and left, because there was not enough room for two of them inside.

He later saw Police swarming outside his home and went outside to see what was going on. He admitted lying to a Police officer who questioned him about what had happened with the toolbox. He told the officer he was in his yard when he saw three men drop the box down over his wall. "That's not true. I was nervous," he explained yesterday. "I didn't know what was in this box so I shifted the blame."

His lawyer, John Perry QC, asked him: "In helping Kershun lift that box, did you think you were doing anything wrong?"

Calderon replied: "No". He also confirmed that he has no previous convictions for any criminal offences.

Under cross-examination from prosecutor Robert Welling, he insisted that he only lied through a "nervous reaction."–Mr. Welling responded: "I have no doubt that on any other occasion, you've been nothing other than a law-abiding member of the community. But you got drawn in. No doubt you regret it, but that's the truth isn't it? You were in it from the beginning."

Calderon replied: "No sir."

The jury also heard character references for Calderon, read by his other defence lawyer, Elizabeth Christopher. The first came from soccer legend Clyde Best, who wrote a letter saying he's known Calderon all his life, and knows him as a responsible, law-abiding person from a good family.

Family friend Allan Trew, manager at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel, made similar comments, describing Calderon as a bright, outstanding and respectful person.

Taking the stand to give evidence in his own defence yesterday afternoon, Vanlowe-Dill told the jury he has been homeless for the past 15 years. He explained that he has learning difficulties and described himself as a loner with no friends but no enemies that he knows of.

Vanlowe-Dill said that Dublin visited him at the abandoned apartment he was living in on May 8 last year and offered him a $20 "hustle" to go and pick the box up from DHL.

Vanlowe-Dill, who was living off money earned from washing cars and bikes, told the jury that he agreed, because he wanted the money. He said that Dublin took him to Calderon's house on the back of his bike, then left him sitting outside while he went inside. Dublin later told him he'd made arrangements with DHL and loaned him a bike and gave him around $100 to go and pick up the parcel and pay for it.

Vanlowe-Dill told the jury that he signed for the box with his own signature, but also wrote the name T Stevens the name the parcel was addressed to on a DHL form on the direction of a woman who worked at the courier firm.

The jury has heard that that the parcel was addressed to a Terry Stevens, of Gilbert Hill, Smith's. However, Mr. Stevens gave evidence last week that he never ordered the parcel. Vanlowe-Dill said yesterday that he'd never heard of anyone by that name, or by the name of Treadwell Gibbons (aka Treddy).

The case continues.