US rapper Minaj stopped in Amsterdam for drugs – fined

The public prosecutor imposed a fine and then allowed the world star to continue her journey to Great Britain, reported the news agency ANP. A spokesman for the Dutch border police said the rapper had “quite a lot of joints” with her. The authorities initially did not want to say how high the fine would be.

Spokesmen for the airport and police confirmed an arrest on Saturday evening, but not the identity of the person. Minaj herself confirmed this on the platform X and spoke of joints. Her bodyguard explained that they belonged to him. “By the way, this is Amsterdam, where smoking weed is legal,” she wrote.

• Read more: US rapper Sean Kingston arrested after raid

Minaj was travelling by private plane and made a stopover in Amsterdam. A performance in Manchester, England, was planned for Saturday evening for her “Pink Friday 2” tour. But now the star suspected a conspiracy: “They’re getting a lot of money to try to sabotage my tour because so many people are angry that it’s so successful and they’re not getting anything.” She’s also due to come to Austria at the beginning of July, to the hip-hop festival “Rolling Loud Europe” in Ebreichsdorf (Baden district).

The rapper keeps in constant contact with her fans, known as “Barbz,” via social networks. More than 28 million users follow her on X, and more than 229 million on Instagram. The musician, who was born in Trinidad and Tobago and lives in the USA, became known in 2010 with the album “Pink Friday.”

Drugs in the Netherlands

A common misconception outside the Netherlands is that drugs are legal in the country. The world-famous coffee shops that actually sell weed are a big draw for cannabis smokers. Consuming small amounts of cannabis is technically illegal in the Netherlands, but police do not enforce the law under a “tolerance” policy in place since the 1970s. However, only five grams of soft drugs are tolerated. Transporting the drugs to another country is illegal.