UPDATED: Buju to be released 'some point today' says prison official

A prison officer said that Buju Banton will be released from the McRae Correctional institution "at some point today".

The United States Bureau of Prisons update its website overnight and changed Buju's release date from December 8, 2018 to UNKNOWN.

However, checks with the prison on Friday morning revealed that the singer's release date has been changed to December 7, 2018. The prison officer, however, refused to say when Buju would be sent back to Jamaica, insisting that it would be a breach of security policy to reveal such information.

The Bureau of Prisons website website states that, "if the Release Date field indicates UNKNOWN, the inmate's confinement term is not determined (e.g. he or she may be in pretrial status, has not yet been sentenced, is being held due to a civil commitment, etc.)."

The website indicates that Buju is still being held at the McRae Correctional. McRae is known as a "criminal alien requirement" prison, meaning that it houses only non-citizen prisoners who will face deportation once they complete their sentences.

The UNKNOWN status for Buju could mean that he has been removed from the general prison population and is now awaiting deportation Buju, a Grammy award-winning entertainer was convicted for drug trafficking on February 22, 2011 in Tampa, Florida, 12 days after the retrial of his case began.

Federal prosecutors required two trials to convict the reggae icon, who was targeted and pursued by an undercover federal informant for more than a year. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment. His initial release date was set as February 2019, but was later revised to December 8, 2018. Buju recently released a statement saying that upon release, "I only want to be associated with my craft".

"Having survived, I want to share the good news and strength of my music. I just want to continue making music, which I've devoted my life to. I look forward to the opportunity to say a personal thanks to my fans and everyone who supported me," Buju added.