Paris Hilton briefly appears in SAfrican court after being detained in possession of marijuana

Paris Hilton seen in South African courtroom

PORT ELIZABETH, South Africa — Paris Hilton appeared briefly late Friday in a South African courtroom after being arrested on suspicion of possession of marijuana.

Hilton appeared in a special FIFA World Cup court around midnight local time. Neither she nor court officials said anything and she was quickly led away to another room, according to an Associated Press reporter in court.

The socialite was wearing an off-white sleeveless blouse. Her hair was in pigtails and she had heavy black eyeliner.

Hilton was detained in Port Elizabeth earlier Friday for possession of marijuana charges, two South African police officers said.

The officers spoke on condition of anonymity, since they were not authorized to release Hilton’s name before she appeared in court.

A spokeswoman for police at Port Elizabeth, Brig. Marinda Mills, declined to confirm the name, but said a high profile person was appearing in court.

“This person is appearing in court right now. We cannot reveal information about her until she has appeared in court. I am here with the individual in court, we’re waiting for the court to start,” Mills told the Associated Press.

Hilton’s Los Angeles-based publicist, Dawn Miller, said she was awaiting details from the court appearance before commenting.

A local radio station in Johannesburg said Hilton was detained outside the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium, following the quarterfinal match between Brazil and Netherlands.

A police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Hilton was caught with an unspecified amount of marijuana.

“She was found in possession of some amount of dagga,” the officer said, using the local name for marijuana. “We don’t know how much. It’s a high profile person, only the top cops are dealing with it,” he said.

Another police officer, also speaking anonymously, said Hilton’s court appearance had to do with “smoking marijuana.”

Hilton pleaded no contest in 2007 to alcohol-related reckless driving and was sentenced to 45 days in jail. After spending about 23 days in jail, Hilton told Larry King that the experience caused her to re-evaluate the role partying played in her life. She said she wanted “to help raise money for kids and for breast cancer and multiple sclerosis.”

Investors for Hilton’s 2006 box-office bomb “Pledge This!” have been battling the heiress in federal court, claiming that she didn’t plug the film enough. Hilton, who testified last summer at a trial over the dispute, previously said that she was dissatisfied with the finished film, but she worked hard to make sure the college sorority romp succeed.

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Associated Press Writers Eric Naki and Fisnik Abrashi in Johannesburg and AP Entertainment reporter Derrik Lang in Los Angeles contributed to this report.