Homeland Security’s crackdown on sex trafficking hit home for a hip-hop mogul Monday when multiple properties were raided as part of an ongoing probe.
(Video: Fox 5 NY)
Federal agents arrived in force at the Los Angeles, California and Miami, Florida homes of 54-year-old Sean “Diddy” Combs as they executed search warrants issued from the Southern District of New York (SDNY).
The raids, conducted by the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations division were said to be in connection with a federal sex trafficking investigation and, after heavily armed law enforcement officials entered the properties, multiple individuals could be seen dragged out of the home in handcuffs.
Included among those detained outside the California residence were the hip-hop mogul’s sons, 30-year-old Justin and 25-year-old King.
A statement from HSI disclosed, “Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations 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.”
For the time being, Homeland Security indicated that Combs was not the focus of their investigation, but the seizure of electronic devices including phones and computers included the mogul’s as he was in Miami at the time of the raids. According to a law enforcement source, additional locations associated with Combs in New York and Chicago were also expected to be raided, the New York Post reported.
The raids followed a series of lawsuits filed against him in SDNY wherein the plaintiffs alleged the mogul had sexually assaulted them. These included an initial suit from former girlfriend Casandra Ventura that had been settled under undisclosed terms the day after it had been filed.
Ventura’s November suit had been filed near the deadline for the one-year moratorium of the statute of limitations under the New York Adult Survivors Act and was soon followed by three additional suits, of which two of the reported victims said they were teenagers at the time they were allegedly assaulted.
A source told NBC News that three women and a man had been interviewed about the allegations that also included claims of solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms.
Combs had not released a statement about the raids, but had said in December regarding allegations, “ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.”
“FOR THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, I HAVE SAT SILENTLY AND WATCHED PEOPLE TRY TO ASSASSINATE MY CHARACTER, DESTROY MY REPUTATION AND MY LEGACY,” the social media post read. “SICKENING ALLEGATIONS HAVE BEEN MADE AGAINST ME BY INDIVIDUALS LOOKING FOR A QUICK PAYDAY. LET ME BE ABSOLUTELY CLEAR: I DID NOT DO ANY OF THE AWFUL THINGS BEING ALLEGED. I WILL FIGHT FOR MY NAME, MY FAMILY AND FOR THE TRUTH.”
— LOVE (@Diddy) December 6, 2023
While Combs was seen in Miami Monday, and his plane was said to have traveled to the Caribbean, it was unclear if the mogul had been aboard when it touched down for a scheduled trip to the Bahamas.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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