Nicki Minaj arrested at Amsterdam airport for alleged drug possession, released after paying fine

On May 26, American rapper Nicki Minaj was arrested at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam on suspicion of drug possession.

The arrest led to a brief disruption to his schedule, as the artist was going to perform in Manchester, UK, later that day.

Minaj shared her experience on social media, posting a video of herself being questioned by Dutch officials.

According to AFP, authorities at Schiphol Airport confirmed the detention of a 41-year-old American woman but did not officially identify her as Minaj, citing their usual confidentiality policy. “We never confirm the identity of a person detained, but I can confirm that we have arrested a 41-year-old woman on suspicion of trying to export soft drugs to another country.”

Robert Kapel, spokesperson for the military police, told AFP that the suspect had been released after paying a “reasonable” fine. “We have no reason to keep her in detention any longer. We have all the information for our file. Case closed,” he said.

Minaj took to social media platform X, revealing that authorities found cannabis in her luggage which she claimed belonged to her security staff.

“Now they said they found some weed and another group of people had to come here to weigh the pre-rolls,” she said.

She also said the pilot wanted her to delete her Instagram post.

The rapper posted a video clip on her Instagram page complaining about the incident.

The video was captioned: “They tried to stop me from coming to every show. They took my bags before I could see them. Put him on the plane. Now they say they are waiting for customs.

She also claimed that people were trying to sabotage her tour.

She wrote: “This is what it looks like when people get paid big bucks to try to sabotage a tour after all else has failed. Everything they did was illegal. This incident highlights a common misconception regarding drug laws in the Netherlands.

Although the Netherlands is famous for its cafes selling cannabis, consumption of the drug is technically illegal but tolerated under a policy in place since the 1970s. However, transporting cannabis to another country remains strictly illegal.

Due to this detention, Minaj's concert in Manchester, part of her Pink Friday 2 world tour, initially scheduled for Saturday evening, was postponed.

Promoter Live Nation announced in a statement that the performance would be postponed and tickets would be honored.

The statement read: “Nicki Minaj’s planned performance at Co-op Live in Manchester on Saturday May 25 has been postponed. Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled show which will be announced as soon as possible.''

“Despite Nicki's best efforts to explore every possible avenue for tonight's show to take place, today's events have made that impossible,” Live Nation said in a statement. “We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused. »

The rapper's fans are now eagerly awaiting news of the postponed event.

Thanking and apologizing to her fans, the artist took to her X account to say: “Thank you to everyone who prayed for me today. May God cover you and everything related to you. May you be blessed beyond your imagination.

She also posted around 1.30am that she was in a hotel after arriving late in Manchester.

“Barbz, I'm at the Stock Exchange Hotel in #Manchester, arrived just over an hour ago. After spending 5-6 hours in a prison cell,” she said.