Bounty Killer - Contributed

Popular deejay the 'Warlord' Bounty Killer, was denied entry into Trinidad and Tobago on Friday despite being slated to perform at a concert which was advertised to bring him and rival Vybz Kartel together.

The event, smartly titled 'Ceasefire', was held at King George V Park in Port-of-Spain on Saturday night without the presence of the deejay, born Rodney Pryce.

The artiste was reportedly denied entry into the twin-island republic by Immigration officers at Piarco International Airport.

Efforts to get a comment from the deejay or his manager Julian Jones-Griffiths were unsuccessful as numerous calls to their cellullar phones went unanswered.

Reports are that Bounty Killer arrived at the airport some minutes after 8 p.m.

Upon making his way to the Immigration section, he was advised that he would not be allowed to enter the country and would have to take the next available flight back to Jamaica.

wait almost 12 hours

Further reports are that the deejay had to wait almost 12 hours before finally departing for Jamaica about 7:55 a.m.

When THE STAR checked with police sources here in Jamaica, they said they had no knowledge as to why the artiste was denied entry.

On the Trinidadexpress.com website, a representative from Jacho Entertainment, a source close to the promoters of the event was quoted as saying, "They tell us nothing. They just deport him and that was that."

Another website, Newsday.co.tt, quoted Ken 'KMC' Charles a Trinidadian artiste as saying, "The promoter should sue the State because that is just, no doubt, disrespectful ... There was no reason given. The concert was geared towards bringing peace again in the country, to show the young men and women that violence is not the way and that what they sing was just on an entertainment basis and not a lifestyle. But the authorities prevented this from happening ... ."

On September 17, Jacho Entertainment hosted a press conference highlighting plans for Vybz Kartel and Bounty Killer to perform at the show as a symbol of unity.

During that press conference concert organiser, Vern Extavour, of 99.1FM said, "The idea of bringing these artistes for a concert in Trinidad is to show the youths that at the end of the day, the artistes are entertainers. They have agreed to put aside their differences to promote peace."

In 2004, Bounty Killer was taken off stage at Summerfest 2004, a concert staged at the Queen's Park Savannah in Trinidad for using obscene language during his performance.