Two properties belonging to rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs in Los Angeles and Miami were searched Monday by federal Homeland Security Investigations agents and other law enforcement as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation
The rapper, who is facing mounting sexual harassment and rape lawsuits, was nowhere to be seen as agents combed through his properties on Monday afternoon, removing boxes and bags of evidence.
While it’s not known if the mogul himself is on board, Diddy’s personal jet – LoveAir LLC – has been tracked to Antigua in the Caribbean, according to TMZ.
A police line was set up around the Los Angeles house in the wealthy Holmby Hills neighborhood near Beverly Hills, where at least two men were put in handcuffs.
Armed agents from the Department of Homeland Security entered luxury properties on both East and West Coasts of the United States, with video footage showing helicopters circling overhead.
The agents, who were wearing vests, gathered in the home´s backyard near the pool. Multiple law enforcement agents were seen carrying bags and boxes of evidence to a van.
A command post was set up outside the house and agents were still entering and leaving hours after the search began.
A spokesperson for Homeland Security Investigations told DailyMail.com in a statement: ‘Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners.’
‘We will provide further information as it becomes available.’
DailyMail.com has contacted representatives for Diddy for comment.
There was no immediate official confirmation about what precipitated the raids.
The outing comes just weeks after one of Diddy’s accusers in a sexual assault lawsuit was ordered to reveal her identity.
The rapper and music mogul has been fighting various legal battles, including one against an unnamed woman who claimed he and two friends sexually assaulted her when she was 17.
Rolling Stone reported Monday that ‘four Jane Does and one John Doe’ have already been interviewed by the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York ‘for a probe related to alleged sex trafficking, domestic violence and racketeering,’ with more scheduled.
While the woman’s identity has yet to be revealed in the lawsuit, a judge just ruled she would no longer be able to stay anonymous if the suit proceeds.
Diddy has filed a motion to have the woman’s case thrown out, and she will reportedly remain anonymous until the judge rules on that motion.
The accuser was the fourth woman to accuse Diddy of sexual assault in quick succession last year after his ex, the singer Cassie, sued him in November 2023.
Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for Cassie and another one of the Jane Does accusing Diddy, responded to the search in a statement to DailyMail.com
‘We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.’
Tyrone Blackburn, a lawyer for accusers Rodney Jones and Liza Gardner, told Rolling Stone: ‘It’s about damn time. Sometimes justice delayed is not justice denied, so long as justice ultimately arrives.’
It’s not clear yet whether Combs was the target of the investigation. A spokesperson for the U.S. attorney´s office in Manhattan declined to comment.
Diddy (real name: Sean Combs) has vehemently denied the accusations of each of the women and claimed they are ‘looking for a quick payday.’
After allegedly supplying the woman with ‘copious amounts of drugs and alcohol,’ Diddy and two pals are accused of taking turns violently raping the teen as she drifted in and out of consciousness, leaving her in so much pain that she could barely stand or remember how she got home, according to her complaint.
In harrowing detail, she described in her suit how Combs allegedly demanded that she pinch his nipples throughout the attack to help him ‘get off,’ before pulling up a chair to watch her being raped and choked by his associates.
She says she suffered in silence for 20 years until the R&B singer Cassie sued Combs, her former mentor and ex-boyfriend, for allegedly subjecting her to savage beatings, drug-addled hotel orgies and rape.
Combs denied the claims in that case and the two sides reached an out-of-court settlement barely 24 hours after the suit was made public in November 2023.
After the flurry of subsequent allegations, Diddy tweeted out a new statement under the heading ‘Enough is enough.’
Combs is among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades.
Formerly known as Puff Daddy, he built one of hip-hop´s biggest empires, blazing a trail with several entities attached to his famous name.
He is the founder of Bad Boy Records and a three-time Grammy winner who has worked with a slew of top-tier artists including Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige, Usher, Lil Kim, Faith Evans and 112.
Combs created the fashion clothing line Sean John, launched the Revolt TV channel with a focus on music, and produced the reality show ‘Making the Band’ for MTV.
Lawsuits against him describe Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity to prey on and intimidate women.