'Locked Up': Singer Akon arrested on outstanding warrant
Singer Akon has been arrested in Georgia on an outstanding warrant, TMZ has reported.
Listen to this article
The 52-year-old, whose real name is Aliaune Thiam, was arrested in DeKalb County last Thursday, according to the sheriff's office.
He was released six hours later.
The 'Locked Up' rapper was reportedly arrested on an out of country warrant.
The warrant was for failure to appear for a suspended licence, according to legal documents obtained by TMZ.
Police say they were on patrol when they spotted a Tesla Cybertruck stranded in the middle of the road in Georgia.
Akon was the driver and he told cops the battery had died.
Police called a tow truck to move the vehicle and while waiting, the officer discovered Akon's licence was suspended for a failure to appear from back in January 2023.
Read more: Victims' Commissioner Baroness Newlove, whose husband was murdered by gang of youths, dies aged 63
Read more: Stamp duty should be abolished, TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp tells MPs
Police said Akon was issued a citation for driving while his license was suspended and released from the scene.
The officer also noted that an illegal vape and was seized during the inventory and submitted for destruction.
Neither Akon nor his representatives have publicly commented at the time of publication.
This is not the first time the five-time Grammy nominee has had a brush with the law.
In 1998, he spent several months behind bars for car theft charges, though these were later dropped.
Then a decade later, he pleased guilty to second-degree harassment and endangering the welfare of a minor after hurling a fan aged 15 off stage during a performance in New York.
The singer was fined $350 and ordered to 65 hours of community service.