Police Raid Lil Wayne’s Mansion, Seize Artwork And Other Property

Rapper Lil Wayne came down with a big headache late in the day on Tuesday as cops descended on his palatial estate in Miami Beach. Celebrity news repository TMZ reports that the fuzz paid a visit to the platinum selling artist en masse as part of an ongoing civil matter. Indeed, police reportedly arrived on the scene armed with an order allowing them to seize Lil Wayne’s property. They were accompanied by an expert who assisted authorities in deciding which of the rapper’s possessions should be taken.

Citing a report by Miami News Times, Huffington Post indicates that the police operation was a “repossession” undertaken to settle some hefty bills accrued by Lil Wayne while he was the living proverbial high life as a top-tier celebrity. To be more specific, Lil Wayne currently owes a cool $2 million to private jet company Signature Group after he failed to pay up for their services for somewhere around two years of a three-year contract.

“To recover that cash, Signature Group asked [Miami-Dade County Judge Lisa] Walsh to authorize a ‘break order,’ basically giving them permission to storm Wayne’s house – with or without permission – to obtain his assets.”

The Court denied a previous request by Signature Group to confiscate Wayne’s property, citing a lack of proof that the rapper had enough valuable stuff to satisfy the debt. The above-noted report indicates that Signature Group eventually obtained photographic evidence of Lil Wayne’s lavish lifestyle, prompting the Court to sign off on an order authorizing the seizure.

TMZ‘s sources set the value of Lil Wayne’s art collection at somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million. The gossip site further noted that police were observed taking “several plaques,” which might be awards from his celebrated recording career.

Despite welching on the formidable tab for his Gufstream II jet lease, Lil Wayne is far from having one foot in the poorhouse. In fact, the value of his Miami Beach – which is currently up for sale – is valued at $11 million. By some accounts, that’s just a fraction of his fortune.

Celebrity Net Worth indicates that the 33-year-old recording star has somewhere around $150 million to his name, accrued through a steady string of big money endeavors, including his ventures into the executive side of the recording industry. And for what it’s worth, he apparently landed $150,000 last week via his fantasy football league.

I’m back with $150,000 this week to 1st place in my Fantasy Football league! http://t.co/pN3WsUr3WQ #GoPackGo pic.twitter.com/0F0iOQwZro

— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) October 16, 2015

Lil Wayne’s assets aren’t the only factor that makes Tuesday’s police raid seem somewhat incidental. According to records compiled by Legal Tips Cards, the rapper has had a string of high profile arrests during his time in the limelight, including weapons possession and drug charges. Even inside the “stony lonesome,” Wayne apparently had some difficulty staying out of trouble. In 2010, while serving a stint in Riker’s Island prison, he was busted for possession of contraband after corrections officers caught him with an MP3 player, a charger, and headphones.

Wayne’s free-wheeling lifestyle comes with all sorts of risks that are not simply limited to the legal arena. In April, a gunman opened fire on the Lil Wayne’s tour bus in an incident that allegedly stemmed from a long-running dispute between Wayne and rival hip hop artist Young Thug. Nobody was injured and a suspect was eventually arrested.

Lil Wayne was reportedly in Los Angeles when everything went down at his mansion and thus far, his camp has not issued any public comment on the situation.

[Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartMedia]