US rapper Nicki Minaj freed after Netherlands arrest
The Hague, Netherlands — U.S. rapper Nicki Minaj was detained at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on suspicion of possessing soft drugs before being released with a fine, Dutch media reported Saturday.
The singer was to perform a show in Britain later Saturday and posted images on social media of her being questioned by officials.
Police confirmed to AFP that they had detained a 41-year-old American woman but declined to confirm that it was Minaj, as per their usual policy.
"We never confirm the identity of a person in custody, but I can confirm we have arrested a 41-year-old woman suspected of trying to export soft drugs to another country," Robert Kapel, a military police spokesman, told AFP.
Kapel later told AFP the suspect had been released after the payment of a "reasonable" fine.
"There's no reason for us to keep her in custody any longer. We have all the information for our file. Case closed," he told AFP.
The rapper posted on X that authorities told her they had found cannabis in her luggage, which she said belonged to her security personnel.
A common misconception outside the Netherlands is that marijuana is legal in the country, home to world-famous coffee shops (which actually sell pot) that are a huge draw for cannabis smokers.
The consumption of small quantities of cannabis is technically illegal but police choose not to enforce the law as part of a tolerance policy in place since the 1970s.
Transporting the drugs to another country is illegal.
Minaj was due to perform in Manchester on her Pink Friday 2 World Tour, and the hashtag #FREENICKI was trending on X.
The Manchester concert originally scheduled for Saturday night has now been postponed.
Promoter Live Nation said the performance will be rescheduled and tickets will be honored.
“Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible,” the promoter said in a statement. “We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”