Lil Wayne News

The rap star was arrested Tuesday night after Border Patrol officers allegedly found marijuana, cocaine and Ecstasy in his tour bus while it was stopped at a checkpoint in southwestern Arizona.

Lil Wayne, whose real name is Dwayne Michael Carter Jr., was stopped at about 11:30 p.m. and booked into Yuma County Jail at 6 a.m. Wednesday on suspicion of possession of dangerous drugs, narcotics and drug paraphernalia, according to Yuma County Sheriff's spokesman Capt. Eben Bratcher.

The self-proclaimed "Best Rapper Alive" was released a little before 2 p.m. Wednesday on a $10,185 bond after being arraigned via video at Wellton Justice Court, about 35 miles east of Yuma, E! Online has confirmed.

Wayne will find out whether he's going to face criminal charges at a hearing set for Friday in Wellton.

''He is looking forward to his day in court. That's all I can say right now,'' Wayne's Yuma-based attorney, James Tilson, told the Yuma Sun.

Two members of Wayne's 11-person entourage were also busted for alleged marijuana possession.

Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman Ramona Sanchez said nearly four ounces of pot, nearly an ounce of cocaine, 41 grams of Ecstasy, miscellaneous drug paraphernalia, $22,000 in cash and three guns were recovered from the suspects' bus. After the bus was pulled over for a routine check on Interstate 8, a drug dog alerted officers to the presence of possible substances.

While two of the firearms were legally registered to two of Wayne's friends, officers also turned up a .40-caliber pistol registered to Wayne in Florida, where he has a permit to carry a concealed weapon. Authorities are investigating whether the hip-hopper violated Arizona weapons laws, Sanchez said.

Also still plaguing Wayne is a pending drug case in Atlanta, gun and pot charges in New York and a lawsuit brought by a Miami jewelry company that claims he has yet to pay for $146,000 worth of bling he purchased in October.

The New Orleans native has pleaded not guilty to three counts of possessing a controlled substance stemming from his August 2006 arrest in Atlanta after police allegedly found marijuana and more than 100 Xanax and hydrocodone, or cough suppressant, pills in his hotel room after being tipped off by a hotel employee.

In the meantime, the mix-tape master, who lately has made a career of guest-rapping on other artists' albums, is putting the finishing touches on Tha Carter III, which now has a Mar. 18 release date.

Wayne was named MVP of the Year at the 2007 BET Hip-Hop Awards in October and shared the Alltel People's Choice Award with Birdman for their collaboration on the single "Stuntin' Like My Daddy."