Nicki Minaj vows to make amends with fans after drug arrest

Nicki Minaj promised her fans an "added bonus" after they were left waiting for her at Manchester's Co-op Live arena in the UK on Saturday night. 

The American rapper was detained at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport on suspicion of possessing "soft drugs" ahead of the concert. 

She wrote on X, formerly Twitter, Dutch authorities "said they found weed" in her luggage.

"So they succeeded at their plan to not let me get on that stage tonight. I succeeded @ getting to the root of it all by recording them & posting everything in real time," Minaj wrote.

She also promised her fans that another date would be announced for the canceled show in Manchester. "I'm going to create an added bonus for everyone that had a tkt (ticket) for this show. Promise," she wrote. 

What did Dutch police say?

Robert Van Kapel, a spokesperson for the Netherlands military police, would only confirm that they arrested a 41-year-old American woman for "exporting soft drugs." He did not identify her or the drugs. 

Police later tweeted that they fined the woman and released her.

Minaj shared a video of authorities asking to search her bag. In another video, a police officer can be seen telling her she is carrying drugs, which she denies.

"Now they said they found weed & that another group of ppl have to come here to weigh the pre-rolls," she posted. 

Minaj said the "pre-rolls" belonged to her security guard and that her bags had been searched "without consent."

The concert venue had already let the audience in when the event was announced to be cancelled. Fans chanted "Free Nicki Minaj" in solidarity with her.

Many messages of support from fans poured in on X, as the hashtag #FREENICKI was trending.

Cannabis illegal in the Netherlands

It is commonly believed that cannabis is legal in the Netherlands, which has several coffee shops selling weed.

While the consumption of weed is technically prohibited, authorities do not enforce this law as part of a "tolerance" policy to separate soft drug users from criminal dealers who may introduce them to hard drugs.

Authorities are getting stricter; in Amsterdam, they have started fining people caught smoking marijuana om the streets.

It is part of a move to crack down, who n on the growing number of so-called party tourists who have been clogging the streets, especially in the red-light district.

tg/lo (AFP, AP, Reuters)