A sniffer dog found cocaine in a locked safe in an American cruise ship passenger’s cabin.

Steven Heiser, 35, from New Jersey, admitted importing drugs to Bermuda at Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

He was caught with the drugs in his cabin on the Norwegian Escape. The cocaine was found last Wednesday after a sniffer dog alerted customs officers to the safe.

Officers recovered two plastic bags with a combined total of 1.83 grams of the drug.

Heiser said he had brought the drugs into Bermuda for personal use.

Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe fined Heiser $1,000.

He was ordered to pay the fine before he left Bermuda.

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