NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man who says he was extorted by a Mexican drug cartel has been found guilty of transporting about $1 million in heroin from Atlanta to New York City.

Authorities say 45-year-old David Pacheco smuggled the heroin in a hollowed out car battery as part of a scheme that sent him on nine different trafficking missions. He was convicted in a Montgomery County court on Thursday.He says he made the smuggling runs because a powerful drug cartel in Mexico threatened members of his family.He was arrested in January 2016 with roughly 6 pounds of heroin worth about $1 million.A lawyer for Pacheco says they plan to appeal the drug trafficking charges. Court records did not list a sentencing date.