US rapper Lil Wayne has pleaded guilty to illegal possession of a firearm.
A gold-plated handgun was found in his luggage at an airport on 23 December 2019.
The rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter, had a .45 calibre gun and six rounds of ammunition in his private plane. The plane was searched on arriving in Miami from California.
“Your honor, I plead guilty,” the 38-year-old musician admitted in court during a virtual hearing. Police received an anonymous tip about the presence of the gun in Lil’s plane. In rap lingo, that’s called “snitching.”
“In addition to the gun — which Lil Wayne said at the time he had received as a Father’s Day gift — they found cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, heroin, pain killers and prescription-strength cough syrup, along with nearly $26,000 (about Ksh2.8 million) in cash,” says the New York Times. “He was not charged with any drug offenses.”
10 Years in Prison
Lil previously faced gun-related charges in 2007. He will be sentenced on Jan. 28, 2020. He could be imprisoned for up to 10 years.
Lil’s discography includes Funeral (2020), Tha Carter V (2018), Tha Carter III (2018), Tha Carter IV (2011), and Tha Carter (2004). He launched his solo career with Tha Block Is Hot (1999).
A multiple-award winning artist (including several Grammys), Lil is worth an estimated $150m (Ksh16 billion).
