NEW YORK, United States (CMC) — A Brooklyn Federal Court has found Heeralall Sukdeo guilty of smuggling 350 kilos of cocaine in a frozen shrimp-laden container from Guyana in June last year.

“The defendant is a drug smuggler,” Assistant US Attorney Ryan Harris told the jury, “and he was caught red handed”.

The court heard that the cocaine, valued at US$8 million, was shipped from Guyana, and arrived at the Red Hook pier in June 2015.

The convicted man claimed that he was duped by a relative who is in the fish business, too, and was left holding the bag after the feds found the bricks hidden inside blocks of ice

The New York Daily news reported that federal agents were unable to repack the frozen shrimp in the 20-foot container and substituted a 40-foot container, which they placed under surveillance.

The paper reported that the much larger shipping container apparently did not arouse Sukdeo’s suspicion when he flew in from Guyana to pick up the load.

Sukdeo’s US$500,000 bail was revoked after the verdict on Friday.