Reggae star Buju Banton to begin trial on cocaine charges in Fla.; attorneys claim entrapment

Reggae star Buju Banton to begin Fla. drug trial

TAMPA, Fla. — Jury selection is scheduled to begin in the cocaine trial of Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton.

The four-time Grammy nominee’s trial will begin Monday in federal court in Tampa, Fla. He faces a possible life sentence if convicted.

Prosecutors say Banton and an associate negotiated with an informant to buy more than five kilograms of cocaine. Along with a third man, they allegedly met with an undercover officer in Sarasota in early December to buy the drugs. The informant told Drug Enforcement Administration agents that he also saw the singer inspecting the cocaine.

The other two men have pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against Banton.

Banton’s attorneys say the government’s informant entrapped him.