Jamaican dancehall reggae star Buju Banton has been arrested for attempting to purchase 20Kg of cocaine (about 44 pounds) from an undercover officer in Florida. If found guilty, Banton faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The United States Drug Enforcement Agency was acting on a confidential tip from an informant who wore a wire during the drug negotiations. The DEA arrested Buju Banton and 2 accomplices for attempting to purchase cocaine from an undercover law enforcement officer. The specific charge is conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 5Kg of cocaine.

The case began when Buju Banton, 36, contacted the informant last week about buying the cocaine in Sarasota, Florida. The DEA then monitored him arrive at the meeting in a silver Land Rover with a “Jah One” license plate the next day at La Tropicana de Havana restaurant in Sarasota, where Banton and 2 other men met with the informant.

Law enforcement officials then followed Buju Banton and the other men to a warehouse that was already surrounded with surveillance equipment and observe the completion of the deal, where one of Banton’s accomplices sliced open a cocaine brick with a knife, and according to the DEA’s affidavit Banton “instantly wiped the blade of that knife with his finger and placed that finger in his mouth in what appeared to be an attempt to taste the cocaine.”

2 more meetings followed at other restaurants in Sarasota and then the police moved in and arrested Buju Banton last Thursday in Miami, Florida.

Buju Banton, born Mark Anthony Myrie, is being held in a Miami detention center and will be prosecuted in Tampa, Florida. Banton’s bail hearing will be held on Wednesday, December 15, in a Miami federal court. Banton’s attorney and record lable haven’t yet commented on the case.

Banton, 36, has homes in both Jamaica and Florida. He was one of the leading Jamaican dancehall stars in the 90s. More recently, his music has focused on roots reggae and was most recently nominated for a Grammy award this year for his Rasta Got Soul roots reggae album. It is his 4th Grammy nomination.

In the past he has been criticized for his homophobic lyrics by organizations such as The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), which recently launched an online petition protesting his reggae Grammy nomination due to past songs that advocate violence against gay people, specifically his dancehall song Boom Bye Bye, which advocates throwing acid in the face of gay men. Last September Buju Banton’s PR reps told the Miami Herald that Banton has stopped performing that song so he should not be held accountable for it any longer.

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