Buju Banton is officially a free man and will arrive in Jamaica this evening.
The Grammy-winning Reggae singer was released from prison after eight years at the McRae Correctional institution on Friday.
The “Untold Stories” singer is expected arrive at the Norman Manley International Airport at 7:30 this evening.
Earlier this year, Buju Banton signed up for voluntary deportation to return to Jamaica in the shortest time possible.
According to his publicist, Ronnie Tomlinson, Banton’s lawyers had made legal manoeuvres to circumvent that process and he is not fighting his immigration status.
“Buju has made sure that his stay with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will be as short as possible. He has opted for voluntary deportation. He should be home in very short order after his sentence ends,” she said.
Buju Banton was arrested in December 2009, months after he was met by a convicted drug trafficker on a flight from Spain who sought to set up a cocaine deal for him.
Following his conviction in February 2011, Buju was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment.
Federal prosecutors required two trials to convict the reggae icon, who was targeted and pursued by an undercover federal informant for more than a year.
The 45-year-old entertainer was convicted of drug trafficking on February 22, 2011 in Tampa, Florida, 12 days after the retrial of his case began.
He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. Banton’s initial release date was set as February 2019, but was later revised to December 8, 2018.
