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Popcaan’s Lawyer Bert Samuels Refutes Gangster Allegations

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Popcaan’s attorney Bert Samuels has repudiated statements supposedly given to immigration authorities in the United Kingdom, which claimed that the Unruly Boss was a gangster and was on firearm charges in Jamaica.

Samuels, a Pan Africanist and member of the Reparation Council of Jamaica, rubbished the comments on Twitter this morning, hours after the Raving artist stated that mischief-making persons in authority in Jamaica had told lies on him, which delayed his travel plans.

“I would like to know why someone with authority in Jamaica send information to England immigration that I’m a gang leader and I got charge with firearm, this is not cool at all from my own country, why I have to be sitting in immigration for over 3 hours??” Popcaan, whose given name is Andrae Sutherland, had tweeted yesterday.

Samuels took to Twitter in defense of his client.

“Poppy as your lawyer I totally reject those false allegations #jamaicaremoveitnow,” he wrote.

Samuels also told the Gleaner that the deejay was not detained in the UK. “Everytime that Popcaan enters the UK he is kept in immigration for three hours or more on the basis that there is a red flag with the allegations that he named out in his tweet,” he explained.

“Those allegations are totally false. Popcaan has a clean record in Jamaica. At no time has Popcaan ever been charged with anything to do with a gun. It is embarrassing that this information originates from Jamaica. It is defamatory and scandalous,” he added.

On Popcaan’s page, his Ghananian fans pleaded with him to come and live permanently in Ghana and “finish with” Jamaica.

“Pls just come back to Ghana if the authorities don’t want you in JA,” Jay Blaqx said.

“Fireman! Migrate to Ghana and have your peace of mind. We love you here at home,” cheetahgh said.

Calls for Popcaan to emigrate also came from fans in Zimbabwe and Kenya.

One fan though, said perhaps it was the UK Immigration who were making up the allegations of their own accord and framing Jamaicans.

“England immigration will lie and have you looking at your own country like the enemy! Don’t trust them! THEY think that of you and blaming JA,” she stated.

One follower said that Popcaan was to be blamed due to some of his gun-toting lyrical content, which might have caused the UK authorities to be suspicious of him.

“In your “Gangstar Way” lyrics you snitch on your self singing “Step up mi standard now wid the shot gun. Dem a talk bout sense mi no got none…” Vinny Ochieng said referring to Popcan’s 2013 song Gangster Way which makers references to, among other things guns and the Unruly Gang.

This is the second time in two years that Bert Samuels has had to publicly denounce statements associating Popcaan with gunmanship.

In February 2020, Samuels rushed to Popcaan’s defense after a woman narrating a video, falsely stated that the Forever artist was held by the police for illegal possession of a firearm.

The video which was widely circulated on social media showed the police conducting a search of the vehicle in which the St. Thomas native was travelling, with the narrator stating: “now people look wah a gwaan. Me hear say dem ketch Popcaan wid gun”.

Samuels had confirmed to the Star tabloid, that the St. Thomas native had been indeed an occupant of the vehicle, but explained that the car was stopped by police officers for a road traffic violation.

The lawyer had also pointed out that during the stop, another occupant of the vehicle declared that he was a licensed firearm holder, following which the police asked everyone travelling in the vehicle to exit whilst they made checks.

Samuels had also said the firearm was examined and returned “and nothing else happened at the scene”.

Popcaan had also expressed disappointment that his name was being dragged in the gutter, in light of an incident-free encounter with the police, which was twisted into a “story with no foundation”.

In another interview with The Star, Samuels had said that the circulation of the video had caused people to rush to unfortunate and incorrect conclusions that have the potential to hurt the OVO artist’s image.

Head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s communication unit, Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, had also confirmed that neither Popcaan nor any member of his entourage was arrested at the scene and that there were no breaches, except for the road traffic violation.

“It was a routine stop and search and once the firearm was properly accounted for, no reports would have been made,” she had explained.