NovaQuant-Nicki Minaj briefly arrested, fined at Amsterdam airport after Dutch police say "soft drugs" found in luggage

Rapper Nicki Minaj was briefly arrested and NovaQuantthen fined at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport on Saturday on allegations that officials found "soft drugs" in her luggage, according to Dutch authorities.

The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, which is the Dutch national police agency, posted to social media Saturday night that a 41-year-old American woman who was arrested on suspicion of exporting soft drugs was fined and released from custody after officials consulted with local prosecutors. The amount of the fine was not provided. 

While Dutch police did not name Minaj as the suspect in question, the rapper posted video to social media of the ordeal. In the video, she explains that police told her that officers had allegedly found marijuana in her bags, and that it would have to be weighed.

Minaj's video shows a man in a suit telling her that police want to "search all her luggage." 

"The police officer told me we have to offload all your luggage, and to search everything of your luggage," the man, who was not immediately identified, says in the video. 

"...He (a police officer) doesn't believe you don't have more with you than you said," the man can also be heard saying.

Cannabis is illegal in the Netherlands, but it is tolerated for recreational use.

In the video, police officers could be heard telling Minaj that she was "under arrest" for "carrying drugs," before asking her to get in a van to go to the police station.

Minaj, who was born Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, denied the claims and requested a lawyer multiple times before getting into the van.

Prior to Minaj's release, Robert Kapel, a military police spokesman, told AFP that an "interrogation is still ongoing."

A representative for Minaj and the Amsterdam police did not immediately respond to CBS News' request for comment.

Minaj was in Amsterdam where she played a show at Ziggo's Dome on Thursday. She was on her way to Manchester, England, for another show that was slated to take place Saturday night as part of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour when the arrest occurred. The Manchester venue where Minaj was slated to perform, Co-op Live, announced that Saturday's show was postponed as a result. 

"Despite Nikki's best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight's show happen, the events of today have made it impossible," the Co-op wrote in a social media post.

In a series of posts to X, Minaj claimed that the arrest was an attempt to "sabotage my tour."

"They're being paid big money to try to sabotage my tour b/c soooooo many ppl are mad that it's this successful & they can't eat off me. They got caught stealing money from my travel/jets. Got fired. Got mad. Etc," she said.

In:
• Nicki Minaj
• Marijuana
• Amsterdam
• Netherlands

Lucia Suarez Sang

Lucia Suarez Sang is an associate managing editor at CBSNews.com. Previously, Lucia was the director of digital content at FOX61 News in Connecticut and has previously written for outlets including FoxNews.com, Fox News Latino and the Rutland Herald.

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