Informants Testify Against Buju Banton At Trial

The retrial of international reggae artiste Buju Banton will resume in a few hours with the defence team continuing to question witnesses. Two witnesses testified on Monday.

They were the informants who gave evidence against Buju, whose given name is Mark Myrie, and the Drug Enforcement Agency officer who handled the case. Assistant District Attorney Jim Preston in his opening statements portrayed Buju as an established drug dealer, who wanted to exploit his connections with state informant Alexander Johnson.

However, Buju's lawyer David Markus said his client is not guilty.

Mr. Markus said the informant at the centre of the trial was a con artiste trying to frame the singer. Drug Enforcement Agency officer, Daniel McCaffrey who was responsible for investigating Mr. Johnson's allegations against the artiste, testified that he had no evidence that Buju had been involved in any drug trafficking.

In the meantime, Buju has asked the jurors to listen to all the facts before delivering their verdict. Speaking with RJR News outside the Sam M. Gibbons courthouse in downtown Tampa, Florida, the 37-year-old entertainer also commented on his win at Sunday's Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.

“I wanna thank all my fans who voted for me and supported me over the years, we finally received the Grammy and also I want to thank the Lord God for giving me a good jury and I ask that they listen to the entire case and hear the facts,”

A team from the RJR News Centre is in Florida and we will have details on the trial as they unfold.