A Jamaican man has had his conviction for drug smuggling upheld by the Court of Appeal.

Tyrone Brown, 31, was jailed for 15 years last October for trying to smuggle packages of cocaine through the airport in his baggage.

Brown launched an appeal against his conviction and sentence, both of which were dismissed by Appeal Judges at the end of last week. They ruled that the sentence was not “manifestly excessive”.

After the short hearing, Brown was returned to prison to continue serving his sentence.

During the seven-day Supreme Court trial, jurors heard that Brown, an electrician, arrived on the island on April 17 on an American Airlines flight from Miami, having departed Jamaica earlier that day.

He appeared “nervous and fidgety” when speaking to customs officials, saying he had come to Bermuda on holiday but was not planning on meeting anyone, and a body search revealed nothing.

However, the following day, when his checked luggage arrived on the island, officers searched it and discovered a black handbag inside.

Hidden inside the handbag were two packages of cocaine with an estimated street value of between $95,000 and $132,000.

When he was sentenced, Brown told the court he was a “respectful man” who never dreamt he would be before the courts in such a position.