Authorities Conduct Searches in Los Angeles as Part of Ongoing Sex Trafficking Probe
Federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations, assisted by local HSI agents and police agencies, conducted armed searches on Monday at two properties linked to music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, one in Los Angeles and the other in Miami as reported by multiple media sources. The searches are part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation led by federal authorities in New York, according to two law enforcement officials who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
Spokespersons for Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan declined to provide further details or comment on the matter, so it is not known whether or not “Diddy” is the center of the investigation. Combs’ legal representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
According to a statement from HSI, the department has said that they were behind “law enforcement actions” as part of the ongoing investigation.
Combs’ Los Angeles residence, located in the affluent Holmby Hills neighborhood near Beverly Hills, had a police perimeter established. Helicopter footage from KABC-TV showed agents wearing Homeland Security Investigations vests gathered in the backyard near the pool area. The search seemed intensive, with reports coming from the property that agents even searched the cushions of poolside furniture.
The Los Angeles property associated with Combs’ Bad Boy Films production company is situated in the 200 block of S. Mapleton Drive in Holmby Hills, a neighborhood renowned for its celebrity residents and proximity to landmarks such as the Playboy Mansion.
During the operation, agents reportedly detained two individuals identified as Combs’ sons, although they were not placed under arrest. The sons were seen outside the property as agents conducted the search.
