Buju Banton still in prison

Reports that have emerged that reggae star Buju Banton has been released from prison and deported back to Jamaica have proven to be baseless.

A report on the website hypelifejamaica.com questioned whether Buju, whose real name is Mark Anthony Myrie, had in fact been released.

But an investigation revealed that Myrie is still being held at the McRae Correctional Institution in the state of Georgia.

The 41-year-old has been given the inmate number 86700-004 and his release date is January 3, 2019.

Buju was arrested at his Tanarac, Florida home by US Marshalls in connection with drug trafficking in 2009. He was found guilty after two trials in a Tampa Court.

His conviction has been shrouded in controversy after it was revealed that a jury foreman had disobeyed court orders and studied aspects of the Pinkerton Law and his music during the second trial.

The artiste has steadily maintained his innocence and argued that he was entrapped by a US government informant.