Heavy gold chains shackle American rapper Lil Jon in Vietnam

By Long Nguyen November 21, 2019 | 05:24 pm PT

American rapper Lil Jon was detained for six hours at HCMC's Tan Son Nhat International Airport over excessive gold jewelry he’d failed to declare.

"Vietnam got me hemmed up over my iceeeee smh," Jon commented, posting a photo on his Instagram account. He had returned the airport after a performance in Saigon.

Lil Jon performs at an event in the U.S. Photo by Shuttlestock/Debby Wong.

He told his fans later that he got detained in Vietnam last Friday and had to call the U.S. Embassy to come for help. He then posted a picture of his jewelry on a table and three men who appeared to inspecting his gold chain collection.

Lil Jon told the news site TMZ that he was detained at the airport for about 6 hours due to his jewelry. He also told hip hop magazine XXL that he was unaware he had to declare any jewelry worth over $12,000 to Vietnamese authorities before departing. His collection was valued at around $400,000.

Lil Jon (Jonathan Smith), born in 1971, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer and DJ. He has become one of the most recognized rappers and producers in the industry.