Nelly Says Drugs On Tour Bus Belonged To Staff Member

[NelsonG]

By Gil Kaufman

Nelly's tour bus was searched while he was passing through Sierra Blanca this week, turning up drugs and a loaded gun, and now the rapper has addressed the incident in a statement saying the items were not in his possession.

By now, we've all learned the lesson that it's a terrible idea to drive through the Texas town of Sierra Blanca with any illegal substances hidden in the floorboards. Two days after his tour bus was searched by police in that zero-tolerance border 'burg, Nelly released a statement about the drugs and gun that were found on board.

"It is my understanding a member of my staff made an unfortunate decision to bring unlawful materials onto our tour bus that resulted in his arrest this morning, October 11th," said Nelly in a statement about the heroin, marijuana and a loaded .45-caliber pistol that officers turned up in their search. "Neither I nor anyone else on the tour bus was aware of his decision to bring these on board. Law enforcement officials in Sierra Blanca, Texas did not press charges against anyone other than that individual."

While Nelly (born Cornell Iral Haynes) and five others were detained, they were released and a man named Brian Keith was arrested after he reportedly admitted the illegal items here his.

The Hudspeth County Sheriff's office released a statement on the incident, which noted that during a routine check of the U.S. citizenship of the persons on the bus, a drug dog detected the presence of "controlled substances emitting from the seams of the main entrance of the vehicle."

When the bus was pulled over, the dog zeroed in on a cardboard box, which contained a "small plastic container containing marijuana, and (36) very small Ziploc bags containing [.64 ounces of] Heroin and a loaded .45 cal pistol."

All seven men were detained, and a further inspection of a lower compartment on the outside of the vehicle turned up a "large green duffle bag containing nine vacuum-sealed bags of marijuana" that weighed more than 10 pounds.

Jones admitted the drugs and gun belonged to him and he was taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents, while the other men were released.

Coincidentally enough, the Sierra Blanca checkpoint has been in the news several times before the Nelly tour bus raid, thanks to a slew of celebrities who've passed through with illegal substances onboard. It is the same spot where Willie Nelson, Armie Hammer, Snoop Dogg and, most recently, Fiona Apple were arrested? for drug possession.

[url=http://rapfix.mtv.com/2012/10/12/nelly-says-drugs-tour-bus-belonged-to-staff-member/]View the full article[/url]