The drug trial of reggae star Buju Banton in a federal courtroom in Tampa hasn’t begun yet but the musician’s criminal defense attorney has already begun to set up his criminal defense strategy. Banton’s lawyer has accused the government of entrapping his client in a drug deal that involved a brick of cocaine being exchanged at a police-controlled warehouse in Sarasota according to a story on TampaBay.com. He is also requesting that the identity of a paid informant central to the case be revealed.
Banton’s trial is set to begin in March and he is currently being held in a Pinellas County jail. The arrest centers around his associates allegedly agreeing to purchase five kilograms of cocaine for a price of $125,000. That day Banton was arrested in his home in Broward County. The defense is claiming that that the government’s informant continually called Banton and induced him into the drug deal.