Buja Banton found guilty in Federal drug case. Informant paid 50k to set him up....

Is it just me... or does this case sound a lot like entrapment? you be the judge....

DEFINITION OF ENTRAPMENT:

"In criminal law, entrapment is constituted by a law enforcement agent inducing a person to commit an offense that the person would otherwise have been unlikely to commit."

Buja Banton now faces possible life in prison for his drug conviction in a federal case after just winning a Grammy last week. He was convicted of conspiracy to possess and distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Banton tried unsuccessfully to convince the courts that he was not involved. He testified that the informant — Alexander Johnson — badgered him after they met on a trans-Atlantic flight in July 2009 and insisted that they meet to set up a cocaine buy.

"He did everything he could to lure me in," Banton said about Johnson, who admittedly made $50,000 from the government after Banton's arrest.

Drug Enforcement Administration agents did record Buju inspecting cocaine and tasting the drugs with his finger on Dec. 8, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Preston said. His co-defendant, Ian Thomas, gave the undercover officer $135,000 on Dec. 10. He has since been arrested and pleaded guilty to drug charges.

"I'm very ashamed of myself," Banton told the court. "I know it looks bad. I know it sounds bad. But I was not part of any drug deal."

Banton, a father of 15, said in earlier taped recordings with the informant that he was "stressed out," and noted that he needed money to pay for his kids' school tuition.

Prosecutor Preston hammered Banton during cross examination, saying that the 37-year-old singer went out of his way to portray himself as a drug financier.

"You gave (the informant) every reason to believe you were a player in the cocaine game," Preston said. Banton shot back: "We were both trying to impress each other. I was just making things up. I was just talking crap. I talk too much."