Nicki Minaj released after being arrested in the Netherlands for possession of ‘soft drugs’, police say

CNN
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Rapper Nicki Minaj was arrested by Dutch authorities this weekend for “transporting drugs,” according to police.

In a video captured on the hip-hop artist’s Instagram Live – which was later released online by various social media accounts – Minaj is heard speaking with police at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport while holding her phone with camera.

In the clip, Minaj mentions “the pre-rolls they found,” then she is seen getting out of her vehicle and being asked to get into a police van. When she asks why she is being asked to board the van, an official informs her that she is “under arrest”, later adding, for “transporting drugs”. Minaj responds: “I don’t carry drugs. »

Minaj repeatedly asks for the address of the police station and the presence of a lawyer throughout the clip, while the police ask her to “stop filming”.

When CNN contacted authorities in Amsterdam with Minaj’s first name, Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, Dutch military police, known as the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, said they had arrested a 41-year-old American woman with “soft drugs” at Schiphol Airport. She is currently in custody and is being questioned at the police station, police said.

In an updated statement to CNN later Saturday, the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee said the woman detained in its custody “on suspicion of exporting soft drugs, had been released.”

“After consultation with the public prosecutor, the suspect received a fine and is now authorized to continue her trip,” the press release continued.

CNN has reached out to Minaj’s representatives for comment.

Minaj is currently on her Pink Friday 2 world tour in support of her latest album, released late last year. She was scheduled to perform in Manchester, UK on Saturday evening (May 25), but the show has now been postponed, according to concert venue Co-op Live’s X account. Minaj performed in Amsterdam on Thursday evening.