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Lil Jon says he got held up by Vietnamese officials at an airport while trying to get outta there ... something he claims happened because of his massive stash of jewelry.

The rapper posted footage and photos of himself allegedly being detained Friday while he and his crew were attempting to fly out of Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City after performing in Saigon. Apparently, their version of TSA wasn't feelin' his ice.

On Intagram, LJ wrote ... "Vietnam got me hemmed up over my iceeeee smh." He then posted a photo of what appears to be airport officials going through his many chains and other jewelry he had with him, with most of it laid out on a table being inspected.

It's unclear why they gave Jon such a hard time, but luckily for him ... this story's got a happy ending. Lil Jon says he was able to call the U.S. Embassy in 'Nam and get some personnel down there to vouch for him and get him sprung from detention.

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One of his buddies posted an aftermath pic showing Lil Jon posing with a bunch of folks, some of which appear to be uniformed airport honchos ... while also shedding a bit more light on what exactly happened. The guy, SKAM Artist, wrote ... "Jon was detained earlier today in Vietnam...but w the assistance of 2 staffers from the US Embassy, and a few locals...he's free!!" Another one of his friends credited the "Royal Family" too.

We got a call in to LJ's rep to get to the bottom of this one, but the good news is that he's back to work and keeping the show going in what looks to be China. Can we get a YEAH???