American rapper Nicki Minaj has been released by Dutch police after being detained at Schiphol Airport on Friday afternoon, News About Nigeria reports.
The 41-year-old was held on suspicion of exporting soft drugs, as confirmed by the Dutch police in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, and would have to pay an undisclosed fine for “illegally exporting soft drugs from the Netherlands to another country.”
“We have just released a 41-year-old American woman whom we arrested this afternoon at Schiphol on suspicion of exporting soft drugs,” the police stated. “The suspect was fined and can continue her journey.”
Nicki Minaj, en route to Manchester for a concert at the Co-op Live venue on Saturday evening, documented part of her encounter with the police on social media.
In the video, a police officer can be heard saying, “You are under arrest.” The rapper expressed her frustration online, claiming, “They took my luggage without consent,” and added, “This is Amsterdam btw [by the way], where weed is legal.”
Despite her release, Nicki Minaj was unable to make it to Manchester in time for the concert.
In the early hours of Sunday, she posted a live stream on Instagram from central Manchester, showing a crowd of fans in the street below.
The gig will be rescheduled, with promoters Live Nation issuing a statement saying, “Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled performance which will be announced ASAP.”
They added, “Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible. We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”
At the Co-op Live venue in Manchester, thousands of fans, many dressed in Minaj’s signature pink, remained hopeful that the concert would proceed despite the incident.
The concert was scheduled to begin at 20:00 BST, but doors opened about 30 minutes late. By 20:30, it was clear the show would not go ahead as planned.
A manager at the venue told BBC News that a helicopter was on standby at Manchester Airport to transport Minaj directly to the venue, but this proved unfeasible given the day’s events.
Nicki Minaj later apologised to her fans after landing in Manchester late on Saturday night.
She posted on X, “Thank you to everyone who prayed for me today. May God cover you and all that is connected to you. May you be blessed beyond your imagination. Please please please accept my deepest & most sincere apologies.”
Although it is illegal to possess, sell, or produce drugs in the Netherlands, the country has a policy of toleration for the sale or possession of small amounts of certain substances, including cannabis.
