Reggae star Buju Banton has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in setting up a cocaine deal in 2009, according to BBC News. Banton was convicted of conspiracy to possess five or more kilogrammes of cocaine with the intent to distribute by the Sam M Gibbons US Federal Courthouse in Tampa, Florida in February of this year.
He was also found guilty of possession of a firearm and of another drug trafficking offence. Banton could have faced up to potentially 15 years in prison, but Judge James S Moody of the Tampa Federal Court in Florida sentenced him to 10 years – the most lenient sentence possible.
He also decided to throw out the gun charges after accepting that Banton had not been carrying a firearm, and could not have been aware that any of his confederates were doing so, either.
Banton said in a statement: "The man is not dead. Don't call him a ghost. The days that lie ahead are filled with despair, but I have courage and grace and I'm hopeful, and that is sufficient to carry me through."
His attorney David Markus, meanwhile, added: "This fight is not over. We will keep fighting for him. [Banton] is my brother, and I'm going to keep fighting until they tell me to stop."
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