Hip hop star Sean 'P Diddy' Combs was arrested last night and taken into federal custody in New York. The arrest follows Homeland Security's raids on the music mogul's homes in Beverly Hills, California, and Miami, Florida, back in March, the Mirror reports.
The raids were launched in response to sexual lawsuits filed against him, the first of which was lodged by his ex-girlfriend Cassandra "Cassie" Ventura in November 2023. It is understood Diddy was arrested late on Monday night in a hotel where he was staying.
The Southern District of New York is leading the investigation, the Mirror US reports. A grand jury has been hearing testimony from accusers over recent months.
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In July, NBC reported that a grand jury was examining evidence related to an investigation into sex trafficking and racketeering allegations against Diddy.
A representative for P Diddy, lawyer Marc Agnifilo, told The Mirror.com : "We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Sean 'Diddy' Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community."
"He is an imperfect person, but he Is not a criminal. To his credit Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgement until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court."
Diddy's homes in Florida and California were raided on March 25 when federal agents executed a search warrant. It is believed they seized the rapper's phones after law enforcement rolled up on him at Miami-Opa Locka airport. One of Diddy's attorney's Aaron Dyer labelled the raids as a "gross overuse of military-level force" and a "witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits," according to Rolling Stone.