Buju Banton trial has begun
Music News | Sep 22nd, 2010
Buju Banton could very well be going away to prison for a very long time for getting arrested for selling and buying a ton of drugs. His trial has begun, and an US informant has testified against Banton. The controversial reggae singer was arrested last December in Florida and held without bail on charges of conspiracy to possess and intent to distribute cocaine. It’s big charges and something that could send Buju away to jail for the rest of his life, if found guilty. Despite all the controversy, it will be devastating to see such a talented reggae singer sent away to prison. It doesn’t look good for Buju Banton, especially with everyone testifying against him.
After Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton had a conversation about drugs with a government informant he met on a plane, it triggered a series of meetings and phone calls about buying and selling cocaine, according to testimony from the informant and recordings played yesterday in Banton’s federal drug trial.
Banton and the informant, Alexander Johnson, met on a plane from Spain to Miami at the end of Banton’s European tour last summer.
Johnson testified that they began talking about drugs early in the flight.
[Jamaica Gleaner]
“I’ve been accused, wrongly convicted. Jah knows I’m innocent,” he sings in his gravelly voice, invoking the Rastafarian God. “I’ve been badly singled out by beloved friends … who sold me out.”
[AP]
