The Bothan-5 served as a New Republic Correctional Transport, tasked with transporting prisoners for the New Republic. Ranzar Malk's group of mercenary crew were dispatched to rescue a prisoner named Qin from this prison ship. They used the Razor Crest, which was the starship belonging to the Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin. Against Djarin's will, the crew killed the only surviving crewmember on board, Lieutenant Lant Davan. Before he died, Davan activated a distress signal, which alerted New Republic forces to the ship's location. After the rescue of Qin, the crew double-crossed Djarin, stranding him on the ship. However, Djarin managed to escape, subdue the mercenaries, and imprison them in a cell on the Bothan-5.
Sometime later, the ship was discovered abandoned near the Dilestri system. Security logs revealed that Djarin had risked his own life in an attempt to save Davan, and that he had left behind three wanted criminals, including Migs Mayfeld, who was then apprehended for his involvement in the rescue operation. These records, after being reviewed by a pair of patrolling X-wings, convinced the pilots to refrain from arresting Djarin when they later encountered him.
This vessel made its debut in the sixth episode of The Mandalorian, the 2019 television series created by Jon Favreau. Christian Alzmann, the concept supervisor, aimed to capture the essence of a stagecoach or steam train robbery in his design of the prison ship, acknowledging the Spaghetti Western influence prevalent throughout the show. Alzmann employed recurring boxy shapes on the ship's exterior, reminiscent of a train, even including a feature resembling a cow-catcher on its front. The round prison cell doors inside were designed to evoke the appearance of an Old West bank vault door.