A man caught smuggling almost $59,000 worth of cannabis into Bermuda in his suitcase was convicted by a jury this afternoon.

Tyshaon Rawlins brought eight slabs of cannabis in on a JetBlue flight from New York on June 2, hidden in the lining of one of his cases.

He claimed he did not know what was in there and had been set up. However, the jury who heard his two-day trial at Supreme Court rejected that account of events after just over two hours of deliberation this afternoon.

Rawlins, 24, of Sunnyside Park, Southampton, now faces a likely jail sentence. Puisne Judge Carlisle Greaves remanded him into custody, and the date for the sentencing will be fixed later.

For the full story see tomorrow’s edition of The Royal Gazette.