Did Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs leave the country?
By: Caitlyn Shelton
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Investigators searched rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ properties
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Video shows multiple people being placed in handcuffs at his home
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Where was ‘Diddy’ at the time of the raids?
(NewsNation) — Federal agents swarmed two properties belonging to Sean “Diddy” Combs on Monday. The properties in Los Angeles and Miami were raided by Homeland Security agents as part of an ongoing sex trafficking investigation.
Aerial videos from NewsNation affiliate KTLA show authorities moving into the Los Angeles home and placing multiple people in handcuffs, sparking the question: Where was Combs at the time of the raids?
Where was Diddy during the raid?
While it’s still unclear exactly where he was during the searches, images from TMZ appear to show Diddy walking around and coming face-to-face with federal authorities at the Miami-Opa locka Executive Airport when Brendon Paul, someone described as Diddy’s “mule” in a lawsuit, was charged with possession of cocaine and “marijuana candy” — This happened just hours after the raids at Diddy’s homes started.
Where is Diddy now?
Diddy’s whereabouts have not been confirmed, but he was reportedly spotted Thursday night at Top Golf in Miami with his 17-year-old daughters.
Immediately after the raids, TMZ tracked the rapper’s personal jet. They initially reported the aircraft was on the ground in Antigua. It’s unknown if Diddy was on the plane.
“Antigua, as we know, is an extradition country, so probably not the best place to flee to if Diddy was indeed on that plane, if that’s where he is,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani said during an interview on “Banfield.”
Combs’ private plane, a black LoveAir USA LLC-owned Gulfstream G550, has since vanished from public tracking site FlightAware. Oli Coleman, deputy editor for Page Six, told “Banfield” it’s possible for people to remove their planes from tracking sites.
“They’re keeping his whereabouts pretty close to the chest,” Coleman said. “As much as you can track those things, you can also go to some trouble and black yourself out of them. On this occasion, his plane disappeared, gone private as it were.”
Is Diddy in custody?
Diddy’s whereabouts have not been confirmed but NewsNation contributor Tracy Walder thinks there’s a chance Combs could be in custody.
“My guess is they may actually already have him in custody and we may not just see pictures of that because it was done quietly,” Walder said on “On Balance with Leland Vittert.” “Or he could be out of the country, it’s hard to know. I don’t know the various properties he has, he’s worth a billion dollars so he may not physically be here.”
Diddy broke his silence Tuesday via his attorney Aaron Dyer. According to a statement released by Dyer, Diddy was “never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.”
“Despite media speculation, neither Mr. Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested nor has their ability to travel been restricted in any way,” Dyer said.
Why were Diddy’s homes raided?
The raids come after Combs has faced several sexual assault lawsuits in recent months. Dyer said any speculation about the raids “leads to premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”
In February, a music producer filed a lawsuit alleging Combs coerced him to solicit prostitutes and pressured him to have sex with them. Representation for Combs has said of those allegations that “we have overwhelming, indisputable proof that his claims are complete lies.”
Combs’ former girlfriend, the R&B singer Cassie, sued him in November alleging years of sexual abuse, including rape. The lawsuit said he forced her to have sex with male prostitutes while he filmed them. The suit was settled the day after it was filed.
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FILE – Music mogul and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs arrives at the Billboard Music Awards, May 15, 2022, in Las Vegas. Combs was sued Monday, Feb. 26, 2024, by a music producer who accused the hip-hop mogul of sexually assaulting him and forcing him to have sex with prostitutes. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File)
Another of Combs’ accusers was a woman who said the rap producer raped her two decades ago when she was 17.
Combs had said in a November statement, “I did not do any of the awful things being alleged.”
Who is Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs?
Formerly known as Puffy Daddy, Combs is among the most influential hip-hop producers and executives of the past three decades. He is the founder of Bad Boy Records and has worked alongside some of the biggest names in the industry.
Former Bad Boys Records artist Mark Curry used the word “karma” to describe the investigation involving Diddy. He said his best advice is for the rapper “to grow up.”
“It’s just the chickens coming home to roost. This is just what happens. It’s karma. I don’t wish no bad upon him,” Curry said on “CUOMO.”
Combs’ former publicist Rob Shuter said although he liked “to party,” he never had reason to believe Combs was interested in underage girls.
“I’m not here to defend Puffy as a good person,” Shuter said. “Working with him, he was very tough, he was very demanding. But I’ve worked with a lot of famous people who were equally as demanding. But I never saw any evidence of this.”
Shuter added Combs “is not going to go down without a fight.”
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