Nicki Minaj All Over the News After Schiphol Airport Arrest

The Trinidad-born global star was stopped because she had a number of pre-rolled joints in her luggage. She was released after a few hours, after paying a fine of 350 euros. But some of her fans in the United Kingdom were left furious because she missed her concert because of the incident. 

The 41-year-old rapper kept her millions of Barbz fans around the world informed about the situation via social media. She denied the pre-rolls were hers. “They are from my security,” she claimed. She also accused the Dutch officers responsible for her arrest that they were trying to ruin her tour. 

The Hashtag #freenicki Dominated Social Media 

As the situation unfolded, the hashtag #freenicki reigned over social media platforms on the eve of May 25. The disastrous part of it was that she had to cancel her Saturday show in Manchester. Some of her fans wrote that she was being irresponsible for scheduling a flight just right before a concert, and that should she had arrived a day earlier this wouldn’t have happened. The canceling of the concert left some 20,000 English fans waiting for hours in the Co-Op Live arena, and in the end told to go home. 

Things apparently didn’t go smoothly in the Netherlands either. Minaj was reportedly 2.5 hours late to start her show at the Ziggo Dome in Amsterdam. Though, the real debacle was a day later on her departure from the country. 

According to a spokesperson for the military police, ‘a reasonable amount’ of pre-rolled joints was found in her luggage. Some media reported that 40 joints were in question. The quantity was between 30 and 100 grams of cannabis, according to the Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office. 

Minaj filmed the moment when an unnamed airport employee informs her about her bags being searched. It looks like she had some pre-rolls in her hand purses, and the customs officers wanted to check if she had more in the rest of her luggage. 

“The police officer told me we’d have to offload all the luggage… and to search everything of your luggage. I am so sorry to say that,” the airport man says in the clip. 

“But isn’t that what you planned on doing from the get-go?” Nicki responds in the video. “Why didn’t you guys search it before it went on the plane?” 

The airport employee then explains what has happened. “They did just a random quick check, but now they want to open it,” he says. When Nicki asks why, he goes on to say: “First of all because you filmed him, and he was like… he doesn’t believe you that you don’t have more with you than you say.” 

Minaj was subsequently detained, after which a crowd of fans went to the station to demand her release. She was eventually released in the evening, after paying a small fine of 350 euros (US $380). 

The Royal Military Police reported dry on X: “We have just released a 41-year-old American woman whom we arrested at Schiphol this afternoon on suspicion of exporting soft drugs. The suspect was fined after consultation with the Public Prosecutor and can continue on her way.”

Minaj thanked her fans later that evening and vowed she would make it up to her fans in Manchester. 

However, reactions around the world once more showed that there is still a great deal of confusion around Dutch tolerance policy. International media struggled to explain the legal status of cannabis in the Netherlands. But in essence, you cannot take out any cannabis you purchase from a coffeeshop in the Netherlands out of the country. Similarly, you can’t transfer any legally purchased weed between states in the United States. 

Finally, there were also fans who felt that Nicki Minaj should be actually thankful to the Schiphol Airport authorities: “Released after only 5 hours and fined 350 euros. Had she been caught in England with 40 joints the punishment would have been much heavier.” 

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- Lady Gaga’s No Ordinary Journey with Mary Jane

- Willie Nelson to Release First Ever Cannabis Cookbook