Buju BantonDancehall.Mobi special update – according to an Associated Press (AP) report issued earlier today, Buju Banton appeared in Miami federal court this morning, where he waived his bail hearing; he will now be transferred to Tampa, Florida, where the case is being prosecuted. Below are excerpts from the AP report.

Grammy nominated Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton will fight a drug charge against him in Tampa instead of Miami.

Banton waived his bail hearing Wednesday in Miami federal court. His case is being prosecuted in Tampa, where he will be transferred.

U.S. Magistrate Judge William Turnoff issued a temporary order of detention for the 36-year-old singer, whose real name is Mark Anthony Myrie.

Banton did not speak at the hearing, except to reply, “Yes, sir,” to the judge’s questions. Like the other 10 jail inmates waiting in the courtroom, he wore a beige jail jumpsuit over a white T-shirt, with his long dreadlocks tied up off his neck and his hands shackled in front of him.

“He believes that because the indictment was filed out of Tampa, that’s where the case should be defended,” Banton’s attorney, Herbert E. Walker III, said after the hearing.

Banton has been in federal custody since last Thursday. He is charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine.

Walker said the charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

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