Buju Banton's Lawyer Claim Govt. Snitch Used Entrapment

Buju Banton's Lawyer Claim Govt. Snitch Used Entrapment
Wednesday, January 27, 2010 2:17 PM
By Mike Winslow

(AllHipHop News) Lawyers for controversial reggae star Buju Banton claim that the government set the Jamaican artist up, by using a paid informant.

According to court documents filed on Tuesday (January 26), Banton’s high powered defense attorneys David Markus Marc and David Seitles claimed that the government entrapped the singer, because the informant pressured Buju to purchase the cocaine.

Markus is pushing to have the informants identity revealed, because his credibility or lack thereof, could send Buju Banton for the rest of his life.

The singer allegedly met the informant on a flight from Madrid, Spain to Miami, Florid, in July of 2009.

The informant allegedly spent the next three months trying to purchase the cocaine.

“In addition to refusing to disclose the identity, the government has refused to identify the prior cases in which he has been involved, the outcomes of those cases, the amount of money he has earned making cases for the government, or even the amount he has been paid (or expects to be paid) in this case," the court papers read.

Buju Banton, born Mark Myrie, was arrested on December 10 and charged with conspiring to buy more than five kilograms of cocaine from an undercover law enforcement officer, and possession of a firearm during the course of illegal activity.

Although he was not present in the warehouse that was used in the sting operation when the others were arrested, the DEA claims they have audio and videotaped evidence of Buju Banton testing a package of cocaine.

Buju Banton has pleaded not guilty to all charges and is being held in Pinellas County Jail in Tampa, Florida, without bail.

His trial begins in March.

From AllHipHop.com

http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2010/01/27/22108778.aspx