Nicki Minaj Arrested at Amsterdam Airport for Alleged Drug Possession

Credit: Unsplash

Nicki Minaj was arrested by police officers at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, as documented in a series of social media posts by the rapper. The “Barbie World” artist, whose full name is Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty, live-streamed the incident on her Instagram account, showing a law enforcement officer informing her that she was “under arrest” for “carrying drugs” and asking her to enter a police van.

Although reports do not confirm whether Minaj has been formally charged with a crime, Dutch police stated that she was fined and allowed to continue her journey. The Dutch police spokesperson 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.”

In the footage, re-posted by a fan account on X (formerly Twitter), Minaj repeatedly denies the allegations and demands legal representation before complying with the officers’ request. She later wrote on X, “Now they said I have to go 5 mins away to make a statement about my security to the police precinct.”

Minaj, who was traveling to Manchester, England, for a concert at the Co-op Live arena as part of her Pink Friday 2 World Tour, claimed on social media that the arrest was an attempt to sabotage her tour. In a series of posts on X, she accused officers of taking her luggage without consent and trying to delay her journey, adding, “This is Amsterdam btw, where weed is legal.”

In another video on Instagram, Minaj can be seen speaking to an unidentified man who insists on searching her luggage because he “doesn’t believe you don’t have more with you than what you said.”

Minaj alleged that the arrest was part of a larger scheme to derail her successful tour, writing, “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.”

Following the incident, Live Nation announced that Minaj’s concert in Manchester has been postponed. The statement read, “Tickets will remain valid for the rescheduled performance, which will be announced ASAP. Despite Nicki’s best efforts to explore every possible avenue to make tonight’s show happen, the events of today have made it impossible. We are deeply disappointed by the inconvenience this has caused. More information will be available at your point of purchase.”

Early Sunday morning, Minaj apologized to her fans in Manchester, addressing a large crowd outside her hotel. “I love you and I’m so sorry this happened tonight,” she said in a video posted on social media.