Homes belonging to Sean “Diddy” Combs were raided by government operators Monday, with the United States hip-hop tycoon in the middle of sex trafficking claims and sex assault lawsuits.
Armed operators from the Division of Homeland Security entered extravagance properties on both the East and West Coasts of the United States, with video film helicopters circling overhead and a colossal law enforcement presence on the ground.
“Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of a progressing investigation, with help from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners,” the organization said.
A source affirmed to AFP that Combs was the target of the raids.
Media in Los Angeles carried airborne film of an enormous presence at a swanky Holmby Hills residence associated with Combs – an artist and producer also known as Puff Daddy.
Heavily armed operators could be seen all around the sprawling property, with footage showing unidentified people being detained at the scene.
Entertainment title TMZ said pictures appeared to show the rapper’s sons Justin and King Combs in handcuffs.
The outlet said it also had footage of a raid on an extravagance waterside property in Miami connected to Combs.
There was no quick official affirmation about what precipitated the raids, but the involvement of Homeland Security in large, coordinated raids in two locations proposes serious allegations.
The development comes with legal pressure increasing on the rapper, who has faced at least four claims from people who say he sexually abused them, with charges dating back decades.
Last year, Combs was sued by former sweetheart Casandra Ventura, who performed under the stage name Cassie and was signed to his Bad Boy label.
The suit alleged he had forced her to perform sexual acts with different men over several years in cities across the United States.
That suit was settled but was followed by others, including one in December by a lady who accused Combs of sexual assault, alleging he and others gang-raped her when she was 17.
Combs and other men, the suit said, plied her with drugs and liquor before violently assaulting her repeatedly.
Douglas Wigdor, an attorney who represents two of the ladies who have accused Combs of abuse, told AFP on Monday: “We will continuously support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law.
“Hopefully, this is the starting of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.”
Combs has vehemently denied all allegations against him.
Combs, 54, founded the Bad Boy record label in 1993 and was a major figure in hip-hop’s commercialization over the decades that followed. His proteges included the late Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige.
He is among the industry’s billionaires, not least due to his ventures in the liquor industry.
But contrary to the public image of a smooth businessman, lawsuits describe Combs as a violent man who used his celebrity to prey on and intimidate women.
