UPI (May 25) — Police in the Netherlands on Saturday released Nicki Minaj from custody after arresting the rapper over an incident with her luggage.
Minaj, 41, was traveling to Manchester, England, from Amsterdam for a concert on her “Pink Friday 2 World Tour,” which was scheduled to take place at the Co-op Live Arena on Saturday evening.
The rapper shared a video on her X account Saturday afternoon where a man is seen telling her that her luggage needs to be searched.
In a separate video that Minaj recorded on Instagram Live and then was shared by fan accounts on X, she asked an Amsterdam police officer why she was being arrested.
The officer in the video replied, “because you’re carrying drugs.”
The rapper in the video denied carrying drugs and repeatedly demanded a lawyer when the officer told her to get in a vehicle.
The officer could be heard mentioning her concert on Saturday night and saying they would “try to get [her] there” as soon as possible.
A spokesperson for the police in the Netherlands told NBC News it “arrested a 41-year-old American woman at Schiphol Airport because of possession of soft drugs.”
A few hours later, Co-op Live posted on X that the doors opening for Minaj’s concert had been delayed from 6:30 p.m. to 7.
The police agency at around 2 p.m. MDT said it released Minaj from custody.
“After consultation with the Public Prosecution Service, the suspect was fined and can continue her journey,”
The incident, however, forced Co-op Live to postpone Saturday’s concert.
“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 company said on X. “We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused.”
Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled performance, which will be announced at a later date, the company said.
Minaj earlier on Saturday took to X in a string of posts accusing the airport of “trying everything they can to TRY to stop this tour.”
“Now they said they found weed and that another group of people have to come here to weigh the pre-rolls,” one post read. “Keep in mind they took my bags without consent. My security has already advised them those pre-rolls belong to him. Oh yea and the pilot wants me to take my IG post down.”
Possession of marijuana is legal in Amsterdam, as long as a person has no more than 5 grams on them, according to the Netherlands government website.
