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Cocaine case against reggae star laid out
By Howard Altman (The Tampa Tribune)
It was Tuesday afternoon when the silver Land Rover with the tag "Jah One" pulled up to La Tropicana de Havana restaurant in Sarasota, according to federal and local law enforcement agents who were staking out the restaurant.
Mark Anthony Myrie, Ian Thomas and an unidentified woman got out of the SUV. They were there, authorities say, to purchase several kilos worth of cocaine.
The episode, they say, was recorded.
At least one of the men in the SUV is no stranger to recordings.
Myrie is better known as Buju Banton, a controversial reggae star whose most recent visit to Tampa – like many of his performances - was the subject of protests by groups upset with his anti-gay lyrics. Banton, Thomas, 43, and another man, James Mack, 47, were eventually arrested after an investigation that Sarasota police liken to a movie.
Inside the restaurant, Myrie and the woman met with a confidential source, according to a federal criminal complaint against Myrie, Thomas and Mack.
According to the complaint:
The confidential source told Myrie and the woman to go to another location – which turned out to be an undercover warehouse – to continue negotiations for a large amount of cocaine, There they met with an undercover Sarasota police officer who showed Myrie and Thomas a specially equipped vehicle that contained 20 kilos of coke in hidden compartments.
Myrie and Thomas went over to the vehicle, pulled out a kilo and placed it on a table.
Thomas pulled out a knife and cut open the package of cocaine.
He handed the knife to Myrie, who wiped his finger on the blade and put his finger in his mouth in what appeared to be an attempt to taste the drug.
Myrie and Thomas continued to negotiate with the confidential source until about 3 p.m., when the two men left the undercover warehouse.
The next day, Thomas called the confidential source, trying to purchase 15 kilos of cocaine. They met at an Applebees restaurant in Sarasota, where Thomas told the source his organization wanted to purchase five kilos and, if there were no problems, would buy more cocaine later.
Thomas told the source another member of his drug organization was in the parking lot with about $125,000 in cash to buy the five kilos.
Shortly after 5 p.m., Thomas and the source left Applebees and met with James Mack, who was sitting in the driver's seat of a Honda sedan parked in the lot. Thomas and the source went back into the restaurant and continued negotiating.
At about 10:30 a.m. Dec. 10, Thomas and Mack drove to the undercover warehouse, where an undercover Sarasota officer saw Mack pull large amounts of cash from a hidden compartment in the rear driver's side of his Honda. After looking over the money, the undercover police officer gave a bag containing seven kilos of cocaine to Thomas and Mack.
As the men inspected the drugs, the undercover gave a signal and agents arrested Thomas and Mack.
Myrie, whose ninth CD - "Rasta Got Soul" - was released in April, was arrested in Miami. His record company did not respond to an email requesting comment.
All three men are charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.
Mack and Thomas are being held in the Pinellas County jail with no bond set.
Myrie is being held in Miami with no bond set and is scheduled to have a first appearance in Miami later this week according to Steve Cole, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa.
There may be more arrests to come, according to Sarasota Police Lt. Wade McVay.
"We are still investigating," said McVay. "The investigation extends to a lot of places. This is right out of a movie script."
By Howard Altman (The Tampa Tribune)
It was Tuesday afternoon when the silver Land Rover with the tag "Jah One" pulled up to La Tropicana de Havana restaurant in Sarasota, according to federal and local law enforcement agents who were staking out the restaurant.
Mark Anthony Myrie, Ian Thomas and an unidentified woman got out of the SUV. They were there, authorities say, to purchase several kilos worth of cocaine.
The episode, they say, was recorded.
At least one of the men in the SUV is no stranger to recordings.
Myrie is better known as Buju Banton, a controversial reggae star whose most recent visit to Tampa – like many of his performances - was the subject of protests by groups upset with his anti-gay lyrics. Banton, Thomas, 43, and another man, James Mack, 47, were eventually arrested after an investigation that Sarasota police liken to a movie.
Inside the restaurant, Myrie and the woman met with a confidential source, according to a federal criminal complaint against Myrie, Thomas and Mack.
According to the complaint:
The confidential source told Myrie and the woman to go to another location – which turned out to be an undercover warehouse – to continue negotiations for a large amount of cocaine, There they met with an undercover Sarasota police officer who showed Myrie and Thomas a specially equipped vehicle that contained 20 kilos of coke in hidden compartments.
Myrie and Thomas went over to the vehicle, pulled out a kilo and placed it on a table.
Thomas pulled out a knife and cut open the package of cocaine.
He handed the knife to Myrie, who wiped his finger on the blade and put his finger in his mouth in what appeared to be an attempt to taste the drug.
Myrie and Thomas continued to negotiate with the confidential source until about 3 p.m., when the two men left the undercover warehouse.
The next day, Thomas called the confidential source, trying to purchase 15 kilos of cocaine. They met at an Applebees restaurant in Sarasota, where Thomas told the source his organization wanted to purchase five kilos and, if there were no problems, would buy more cocaine later.
Thomas told the source another member of his drug organization was in the parking lot with about $125,000 in cash to buy the five kilos.
Shortly after 5 p.m., Thomas and the source left Applebees and met with James Mack, who was sitting in the driver's seat of a Honda sedan parked in the lot. Thomas and the source went back into the restaurant and continued negotiating.
At about 10:30 a.m. Dec. 10, Thomas and Mack drove to the undercover warehouse, where an undercover Sarasota officer saw Mack pull large amounts of cash from a hidden compartment in the rear driver's side of his Honda. After looking over the money, the undercover police officer gave a bag containing seven kilos of cocaine to Thomas and Mack.
As the men inspected the drugs, the undercover gave a signal and agents arrested Thomas and Mack.
Myrie, whose ninth CD - "Rasta Got Soul" - was released in April, was arrested in Miami. His record company did not respond to an email requesting comment.
All three men are charged with conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute.
Mack and Thomas are being held in the Pinellas County jail with no bond set.
Myrie is being held in Miami with no bond set and is scheduled to have a first appearance in Miami later this week according to Steve Cole, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa.
There may be more arrests to come, according to Sarasota Police Lt. Wade McVay.
"We are still investigating," said McVay. "The investigation extends to a lot of places. This is right out of a movie script."
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