Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton will fight charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine in a Tampa courtroom after waiving his bail hearing in a Miami federal court. The charges stem from a cocaine purchase in Sarasota last week. According to an Associated Press story, the singer and two others attempted to purchase a “large amount” of cocaine from an undercover officer. The maximum prison sentence in Florida for the drug crime could be life in prison.
According to a DEA affidavit, law enforcement officers were tipped off about the cocaine deal by a confidential informant. Banton’s attorney has proclaimed the Jamaican singer “completely innocent” of the drug charges. Banton’s real name is Mark Anthony Myrie.
