(Reuters) - A veterinarian from Colombia was charged with illegally smuggling narcotics into the United States by surgically implanting packets of liquid heroin into the bellies of puppies, U.S. prosecutors said on Tuesday.

Andres Lopez Elorez was arraigned in a federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday on an indictment of conspiring to import and distribute heroin into the United States, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of New York said.

Elorez, 38, pleaded not guilty, U.S. news reports said.

His court-appointed lawyer, Mitchell Dinnerstein, said his client doesnt have any real connection to the United States, the New York Times reported. Dinnerstein was not immediately available for comment.