Lil Wayne is reportedly in the ‘clear’ after police officers raided a private jet he had been flying on.
The 37-year-old rapper – real name Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. – had been flying into Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on Monday, December 23 when the inbound private jet was stopped and searched by federal agents.
Officers discovered drugs and a firearm on-board the aircraft that had reportedly been en-route to California after stopping off in Florida.
Lil Wayne’s defense attorney Howard Srebnick said federal investigators had ‘cleared’ his client, who had been to leave the scene as of Monday evening, the Miami Herald reports.
Law enforcement sources have reportedly said that no immediate charges had been filed in this case.
If the US Attorney’s Office had made charges, then the individual in question may well have spent Christmas in federal custody.
Under normal protocol, any individual charged would have be taken to the Federal Detention Center, before making their first federal court appearance on Thursday, when the courts reopen after Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
As per the Miami Herald, sources have spoken about how officers received a tip about weapons and marijuana potentially being transported by the plane Wayne had been travelling on.
After alerting federal authorities to obtain a search warrant, officers went on to inspect the aircraft, finding cocaine and a gun.
The federal search included investigators with the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives as well as other agencies, with Miami-Dade police officers also taking part.
Taking to Twitter on December 23, Wayne appeared give his fans an update on his situation with two specific tweets.
The first read:
GO PACK GO!!!!!
Just hours later the Got Money rapper added:
All goody! I think they thought I was talking abt a different “Pack” in my last tweet. But anyway GO PACK GO!!!
Fans expressed their relief at this positive update, with one person tweeting, ‘Fuxk I can go bed happy now!’. Another said, ‘You had us worried my G!! #YM4L’.
Back in May, Wayne cancelled his Rolling Loud performance in Miami Gardens on account of a required police check, tweeting the following apology to his fans:
To all my fans who came to see me at Rolling Loud, I’m sorry but I won’t be performing. The Festival Police (Not Rolling Loud) made it mandatory that I had to be policed and checked to get on the stadium grounds.
I do not and will not ever settle for being policed to do my job and give you guys a great show. I will be at Story tonight for the afterparty and you kan katch me on tour with my bros Blink 182 this summer!
Not the usual pre-Christmas panic you’d want, but hopefully Lil Wayne has a fun festive time anyway.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.