Justin Bieber detained for several hours at LAX airport

Los Angeles - Justin Bieber was detained for several hours at LAX airport in Los Angeles on Thursday.

The Canadian pop star was held by customs and immigration staff upon his return to the country after visiting Japan, but officials insist his detainment was "routine" following his legal troubles, such as an arrest for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in January.

A source told UsMagazine.com: "It was a routine secondary set of questioning that Justin has to go through now every time he comes back in the country because he's a foreign national. It's standard, especially after he has had other legal issues in the US in the past."

Justin's detainment comes a week after the White House responded to a petition seeking to deport the Confident star back to his native Canada.

The White House said in a statement: "Sorry to disappoint, but we won't be commenting on this one.
We'll leave it to others to comment on Mr Bieber's case, but we're glad you care about immigration
issues. Because our current system is broken. Too many employers game the system by hiring undocumented workers, and 11 million people are living in the shadows."

Justin was briefly detained by officials at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport in February when he flew in from Canada for the Super Bowl.

The star's private plane was searched for drugs after receiving an anonymous tip-off and he was questioned.

Justin was forced to apologise for any offence caused earlier this week after he visited the Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo, Japan.

The shrine honours Japan's war dead, but is a controversial site as it also recognises several World War II war criminals.