Conn. man convicted of importing cocaine to SC

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — A Connecticut man has been convicted of importing cocaine into the Port of Charleston.

The Post and Courier reports Sunday that 40-year-old Oscar Baptiste was found guilty last week after a two-day trial.

Federal prosecutors say Baptiste began his plans in 2010. They say the Panama native contacted a man he knew in South Carolina, and that person became a confidential informant for authorities.

The informant helped Baptiste set up plans to receive shipments of multiple kilograms of cocaine through the port. Agents intercepted one of those shipments in March 2011.

Baptiste will be sentenced later and faces up to 40 years in prison. Authorities say he is not a U.S. citizen, so he will be deported after serving his sentence.