Singer Justin Bieber and his entourage were detained at Brisbane International Airport in Australia on suspicion of smuggling drugs, according to a news report.
The crew were stopped by the Australian Federal Police after flying into Brisbane for the singer’s “Believe” tour, The Toronto Sun reported.
Two police dogs sniffed out an undisclosed amount of marijuana in one of the roadies’ luggage. The unidentified man, 23, was ordered to appear in court on charges of importing a border-controlled drug, the report said.
Mr. Bieber, 19, was given a verbal warning for using “inappropriate language” following a conversation with a female customs officer, The Sydney Daily Telegraph reported. He had allegedly refused to remove his hat and sunglasses during an inspection and also used insulting language toward the officer. Police had to threaten to arrest him, the newspaper said.
The group was detained for about two hours. The singer was not charged, The Telegraph reported.
The news comes just days after the mayor of Gold Coast, Australia, issued Mr. Bieber an ultimatum to come back and scrub clean his unsightly graffiti on the QT Hotel wall at Surfers Paradise.
“Hi TMZ, Mayor Tom Tate here from Australia’s Gold Coast,” Mr. Tate said in a video. “You know I got a message here for pop princess Justin Bieber. We love your music, but we hate your graffiti and your vandalism here in our city.”
“Come back and clean up your mess or come back and sing at the Mayor’s Christmas Carol,” the mayor said. The Christmas Carol takes place Saturday in the Gold Coast, The Huffington Post reported.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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