Authorities in Georgia, the United States, have confirmed the arrest of Senegalese-American singer Akon after an outstanding warrant triggered a police alert in the city of Chamblee.
It was gathered that officers from the Chamblee Police Department arrested the singer, whose real name is Aliaune Badara Thiam, after an automated camera system known as “Flock” flagged a vehicle connected to an active bench warrant.
According to the police report, officers traced the vehicle to Tint World on Chamblee Dunwoody Road, where they found Akon standing beside it.
Officials said the musician “complied with instructions” before being taken into custody and later released from the DeKalb County Jail a few hours later.
The arrest reportedly stemmed from a September 10 incident in nearby Roswell, where officers had found Akon stranded next to a Tesla Cybertruck on Holcomb Bridge Road.
Police records show that he was driving with a suspended license due to a failure to appear in court, prompting them to impound the vehicle.
It was further revealed that Akon was arrested again two months later on a related bench warrant and transferred between DeKalb County Jail and Smyrna City Jail before his eventual release.
A separate report from the DeKalb County Sheriff’s Office confirms that Akon was booked at 9:34am on November 6 and released at 3:30pm, before being rebooked on November 7 around midnight and freed shortly after.
Akon’s mugshot, in which he appears wearing a black hoodie and expressionless, has since gone viral on social media. The Grammy-nominated artist was reportedly cooperative during the process and spent around six hours in custody.
As of now, Akon has not publicly addressed the arrest. The singer, who has been touring internationally, continued performing and posting on social media as usual.
Just two days after his arrest, Akon performed at a concert in New Delhi, India, on November 9, suggesting the brief detention did not disrupt his tour schedule.
In a statement to People Magazine, Akon’s representative attributed the entire episode to what he called a bureaucratic blunder.
“Due to a clerical issue the suspended license should have never been escalated, it was paid but not properly entered into the system,” the spokesperson said, adding that “this will be soon rectified in the courts in early December.”
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