American rapper Nicki Minaj has been released by police after being arrested at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.
Dutch police posted on X: “We have just released a 41-year-old American woman who we arrested this afternoon at Schiphol on suspicion of exporting soft drugs.”
“The suspect was fined and can continue her journey.”
The artist was due to fly to Manchester for a gig at Co-op Live on Saturday night.
Minaj filmed part of her 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 his trademark pink – were in high spirits as they entered the venue, hoping the show would go ahead.
One of them started chanting, “Free Nicki Minaj!”
Fans Georgina Warde and Darcy Nicholls, both 18, had traveled from Newcastle and had been looking forward to the show since buying their tickets in December.
They said they would be upset if the show didn’t happen.
Ms Nicholls said: “I’m trying to stay positive, but we’ve accepted the fact that it may not happen. We’re mentally prepared for it.”
Even without any legal issues, the rapper is known for being late.
“I really hope she comes,” 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 apparently in relation to the incident.
“They took my luggage without my consent,” she wrote in one of them. In another, she added: “It’s about Amsterdam (by the way), where weed is legal,” using a colloquial term for the drug cannabis.
Minaj was originally scheduled to take the stage at the Co-op Live arena at 8:00 p.m. BST.
The concert doors opened about 30 minutes late Saturday. With thousands of people in attendance at 8:30 p.m., it was uncertain whether the concert would go ahead as planned.
But a manager at the venue told BBC News the concert was due to go ahead, adding that a helicopter was waiting at Manchester Airport to take the rapper there.
It is technically illegal to possess, sell or produce drugs in the Netherlands. But the country has a policy of tolerance towards the sale or possession of small quantities of certain drugs.
The BBC has contacted Minaj’s representatives for comment.
