FLORIDA – Notoriously anti-gay reggae star Buju Banton has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after being found guilty of three cocaine related charges.
In their verdict the 12 member jury in Tampa, Fla. declared Banton guilty on conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. He was also found guilty for aiding and abetting others in using a communication facility in the commission of a felony and for knowingly and intentionally possessing a firearm in the course of a drug-trafficking crime.
Buju maintained his innocence throughout the trial.
This trial was the second attempt of U.S. authorities to convict the Jamaican star. A first trial last year was declared a mistrial after jurors failed to arrive at a unanimous verdict.
Banton will serve his time at a prison facility in Miami where the singer first incurred his cocaine charges in 2009.
Over the years Banton has attracted much criticism over his anti-gay lyrics. His big hit “Boom Bye Bye”, released in 1988 (and re-recorded in 1992), contains lyrics inciting the murder of gay men.
In 2004, he was tried and acquitted on charges that he participated in the beating of six gay men.
