The last time Buju Banton was in town to perform, he ignited a controversy at the Cuban Club over his perceived anti-gay lyrics.

The next time he is here, Banton will be a guest of the federal government, charged with trying to arrange a cocaine deal.

Banton, 36, is facing charges that he and others tried to buy several kilos of cocaine from an undercover law enforcement officer in Sarasota last week.

A U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration affidavit says Banton, whose real name is Mark Anthony Myrie, traveled to Sarasota to make the purchase along with James Mack and Ian Thomas. The DEA was tipped off by a confidential informant who agreed to wear a recording device during the drug negotiation session.

The three men face a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, which carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.

Sarasota Police Lt. Wade McVay said the investigation is continuing and there may be more arrests.

Steve Cole, spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa, said that Banton is now being held in Miami but will be transferred to Tampa soon for trial. He did not know when the reggae singer will make his first court appearance.

A federal grand jury in Tampa handed up an indictment Tuesday against Banton, Mack and Thomas with conspiring to possess and distribute five kilos of cocaine and possessing a firearm. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of any assets the men gained from their actions or used in trying to arrange the deal.

Banton's lawyer, Herbert Walker III, denied that the reggae singer had any involvement in the deal.

``He's a very spiritual person. He's a very positive person,'' Walker, a former federal prosecutor, told the Miami Herald. ``He's confident he's going to be exonerated.''

Walker added that Banton, whose album Rasta Got Soul is nominated for the Grammy Reggae Album of the Year, is looking forward to ``getting back to doing what he does, which is make music for the people of the world.''

Banton's arrest is huge news in his native Jamaica, said Clyde McKenzie, a music and entertainment consultant there.

"It is all over the media here," he said. "It is a big deal. He is an iconic figure in Jamaica, one of the seminal figures in our modern music. He is a very important person."

The arrest has generated a firestorm of conspiracy theories in Jamaica, McKenzie said.

"People are surprised," he said. "They don't think he did it. They say he was set up and that there was a grand conspiracy."

As a music producer, McKenzie said, he knows Banton well.

"He is a very intelligent guy," said McKenzie. "Very erudite. He would talk about everything. He loves to talk about the big issues. He has a remarkable sense of humor, a droll wit. I really like the guy."

Banton never gave any indication he would be involved in cocaine dealing, McKenzie said.

"I am personally surprised by this charge because it is not in the character of the person I know," McKenzie said. "This is a person who is very philosophical, and he is always into spiritual discussions with me. There is nothing in what he ever communicated to me that would suggest involvement in anything like that."

Feelings toward Banton are less enthusiastic in Tampa.

When Banton last appeared here in October, the police were also involved.

Then it was because members of the gay and lesbian community threatened a protest over songs like "Boom Bye Bye" which say advocates violence against gays While other Banton appearances around the country had been canceled, the Cuban Club forced Banton to sign an addendum to his contract agreeing that he would not perform that song

source:TBO