Stockholm police arrested US rap star Snoop Dogg

STOCKHOLM, Mar 12: Stockholm police arrested US rap star Snoop Dogg and a woman in her early 20s early today for suspected narcotics use, a police official said.

Snoop Dogg, 35, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, was detained at 1:25 a.m. and released nearly four hours later, duty sergeant Mats Brannlund of Ostermalm police said.

''He was arrested for use of narcotics. It's illegal in Sweden to use them, even to have it in your system,'' he said.

''You can see that a person indicates that he has used narcotics in looking at his eyes or his movements. (Police) suspected that he had taken drugs.'' Snoop Dogg played Stockholm's Globe Arena yesterday and was due to play the Oslo Spektrum later today with fellow rapper Sean ''Diddy'' Combs as part of a joint European tour. Oslo-based concert promoter Atomic Agency said Snoop Dogg was en route to the Norwegian capital.

Media representatives for the rapper were not immediately available for comment.

Brannlund said police took body samples from Snoop Dogg and the woman and sent these to a laboratory for tests. Results are due in two to three weeks and the rapper could face a fine if the tests confirm drug use.

Such fines are means-tested and ''if he earns a lot, it can be a couple of thousand (Swedish crowns)'', he said.

Police said Snoop Dogg and the woman, also a foreigner, were travelling in a car in the centre of Stockholm with one other person. They did not disclose the name of the woman.

Snoop Dogg was arrested in Los Angeles in January for deadly weapons possession after airport security found what police said was a collapsible baton in his luggage.

Reuters