American rapper Nicki Minaj has been released by police after being detained at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam.
Dutch police posted on X: “We have just released a 41-year-old American woman whom we arrested this afternoon in Schiphol on suspicion of light drug export.”
“The suspect has been fined and can continue his journey.”
The artist plans to fly to Manchester to attend a concert at the Co-op Live venue on Saturday night.
Minaj filmed part of the encounter with police and posted it on social media.
In the video, a police officer can apparently be heard telling Minaj: “You’re under arrest.”
At Co-op Live on Saturday night, thousands of fans – many wearing her signature pink outfits – were in good spirits as they entered the venue, hoping the show would go on .
One person started chanting: “Free Nicki Minaj!”
Fans Georgina Warde and Darcy Nicholls, both 18, are from Newcastle and have been looking forward to the show since they bought tickets in December.
They said they would be sad if the show didn’t happen.
Mrs Nicholls said: “I’m trying to stay positive but we accept the fact that it might not happen. We’re prepared for it.”
Even without any legal problems, this rapper is still famous for being late.
“I really hope she continues,” Ms. Nicholls added. “But it’s Nicki so we knew it would be delayed somehow.”
The music star posted a series of messages on X that appeared to be related to the incident.
“They took my luggage without my consent,” she wrote in a letter. On another occasion, she added: “This is Amsterdam btw [by the way]where weed is legal,” using the colloquial term for marijuana.
Minaj was originally scheduled to take the stage at the Co-op Live arena at 20:00 BST.
Concert doors opened about 30 minutes late on Saturday. With thousands of people present at the venue as of 8:30 p.m., it remains unclear whether the show will go ahead as planned.
But a manager at the venue told BBC News that the concert was still going ahead, adding that a helicopter was waiting at Manchester airport to take the rapper to the venue.
Technically, it is illegal to possess, sell or manufacture drugs in the Netherlands. But the country operates a lenient policy on the sale or possession of small amounts of certain drugs.
The BBC has approached Minaj’s representatives for comment.
