DHeavily armed officers from the US Department of Homeland Security's (HSI) investigative agency searched the Los Angeles and Miami properties of rapper and music producer Sean “Diddy” Combs on Monday. As the music magazine “Rolling Stone” reported, the federal prosecutor's office in New York is investigating human trafficking, sexual assault, domestic violence and organized crime.

Officers reportedly handcuffed the rapper's sons, King Combs, 25, and Justin Dior Combs, 30, in Los Angeles, California, where Combs lives in a villa in the upscale Holmby Hills neighborhood north of Sunset Boulevard. His father was seen at an airport in Miami, Florida, some 3,500 kilometers away, hours after the raid. In the Sunshine State, HSI investigators had previously searched the musician's property on Star Island in the Miami Beach neighborhood.

Combs is also said to have filmed the attacks

In recent months, the 54-year-old New Yorker has repeatedly received complaints of abuse. In November, singer Casandra “Cassie” Ventura filed a lawsuit against Combs. As the rapper's ex-girlfriend claimed in New York federal court, he repeatedly beat, abused and raped her during their relationship, which ended in 2018 after eleven years. The founder of the music label Bad Boy Records allegedly reduced the singer to submission through alcohol and drugs.

Days after Ventura's civil suit settled with an undisclosed settlement, a former Syracuse University student accused the rapper of drugging and raping her in 1991. Combs is also said to have filmed the attacks. Like Ventura, he used the Adult Survivors Act, which New York state used to temporarily suspend the statute of limitations on sexual abuse. Following the allegations, Combs resigned as head of Revolt, the digital cable television network he founded. Plans for a reality show about the billionaire's family life with the working title “Diddy+7” have been shelved.

Accused of human trafficking with one of his sons

Over the next few weeks, two more alleged victims filed civil lawsuits. An anonymous woman said she and Combs' friend, R&B singer Aaron Hall, were raped in 1990 or 1991. In early December, the Michigan-based plaintiff also accused the rapper (“Been Around The World”) of forcing her to have sex with Bad Boy Records boss Harve Pierre and another man in a sink in 2003.

He was 17 years old at the time. “I've quietly watched over the last few weeks as some people have tried to attack me and damage my reputation. “I didn't do the horrible things I'm being accused of,” Combs denied the allegations at the time.

The latest lawsuit to date came against the Grammy Award winner four weeks ago. Music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr. accused Combs of “serious wrongdoing and sexual misconduct” in federal court in New York and sought $30 million in damages. While working on “The Love Album: Off The Grid” from September 2022 to November 2023, the rapper allegedly repeatedly groped her genitals and anus and rubbed against her. According to the lawsuit, Combs also engages in human trafficking and sexual exploitation with her son Justin and other business partners at Combs Global Enterprises.

The producer allegedly filmed Combs, his son and their business partners and guests repeatedly committing drug crimes and drugging minors and prostitutes. A spokesman for Homeland Security Investigations said investigators searched Combs' homes in Los Angeles and Miami on Monday for clues or videos of the alleged crimes on cellphones, laptops and other devices. “The searches are part of an ongoing investigation,” HSI said.