Nicki Minaj has been released after her arrest at a Netherlands airport hours before she was due to perform at Co-op Live in Manchester on Saturday.
The rapper was held on suspicion of “possessing soft drugs” while travelling from Amsterdam to Manchester for her Pink Friday 2 Tour show, and appeared to livestream the encounter with security staff.
A statement to the PA news agency from the National Police Corps said a woman, 41, was arrested after allegedly trying to take soft drugs from Schiphol airport to another country.
At about 9pm on Saturday, the Dutch force said it released the suspect “and she can now move on”.
The force said the woman will have to pay a fine, which will be determined by the Public Prosecution Service.
In footage recorded on Instagram Live, Minaj denied that she was carrying any drugs but was told that she needed to go to the police station.
The rapper asked the officer if she was “under arrest”, to which the the Dutch police officer replies “yes”.
In the recording, a man explained to her that she “would get a lawyer at the office” and they would go “as fast as possible”.
Minaj claimed she was told by an airport security worker “to get into this [police] van and go into the precinct with no lawyer present”.
Asked about Minaj, Robert van Kapel, a spokesperson for the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, earlier told NBC News: “We can confirm that we have arrested a 41-year-old American woman at Schiphol airport because of possession of soft drugs.”
Dutch military police added it was prohibited to take such substances out of the Netherlands.
The US musician also posted a series of messages on X, where she has more than 28 million followers, including one message in which she wrote “they said they found weed”.
She also wrote “they took my luggage without consent” and “they’re trying to keep me from MANCHESTER”.
The former “American Idol” judge played a show in Amsterdam’s Ziggo Dome on Thursday and is due to return there for another show on 2 June.
Minaj’s show at Co-op Live was originally set to have doors open at 6.30pm but this was changed to 7pm. Fans have since entered the venue.
The beleaguered Co-op Live arena in Manchester – the UK’s largest indoor entertainment venue – opened its doors to the public earlier this month at the fourth attempt after a series of problems and delays. A gig by Elbow on 15 May became the first official date in its schedule.