Jamaican Reggae star Buju Banton has been convicted by a US Federal jury on charges of conspiring to set up a cocaine deal in 2009. The wildly popular reggae artist – real name Mark Myrie – appeared in a packed courtroom full of supporters and other well known reggae artists, to hear the verdict which found him guilty on three of four charges, which included ‘conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine’, ‘possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offence’ and ‘using the wires to facilitate a drug trafficking offence’.
Prosecutors argued that he had told a police informant that he brokered cocaine deals, while defence lawyers argued that he was simply talking himself up trying to impress the informant. The circumstances were made even more dubious by the fact that the US Drug Enforcement Agency informant received $US50,000 in commission for the bust. Banton is now awaiting sentencing, barely a week after winning a Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album for “Before the Dawn.”
