A Latvian pleading not guilty to conspiring to import cocaine yesterday took the unusual step of representing himself in a trial by jury.

Janis Boruss, 31, is contesting the charge because what was found in a false bottom of his bag were three kilogrammes of coffee and paracetamol, which the prosecution allege is a cutting agent for cocaine.

Addressing jurors yesterday, prosecuting lawyers Elaine Rizzo and Lara Lanfranco said that from investigations it also resulted that Mr Boruss thought he was carrying cocaine and only realised it was a cutting agent during the case before the Magistrates Court.

“We believe in prosecution and not persecution,” Dr Rizzo said as she explained that he was caught on December 14, 2010, by customs officers.

Taking the witness stand, Police Inspector Dennis Theuma said that the accused arrived on a flight from Luton Airport after picking up what he thought to be cocaine from Brussels.

In his police statement, he said he was booked in at the Sea Breeze Hotel and someone was to come and take the bag, for which he would receive a €700 payment. Mr Boruss cross-examined the inspector and asked him if he could remember that he was drunk at the time when he was arrested, to which the inspector said that the accused was acting normally and did not show any signs of intoxication.

At the end of proceedings yesterday, Mr Justice Michael Mallia told him that now that the prosecution had closed its case he could either testify or present his case to the jurors.

As he made his decision, he told the judge that he had been in custody for the past two years over coffee, adding that he had requested bail but it was denied because he was seen as a dangerous foreigner.

The trial continues.