Electronics seized during search of Sean 'Diddy' Combs' properties, sources tell ABC News
NEW YORK (WABC) -- Federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations seized a number of electronic devices as part of the court-authorized searches of two properties associated with Sean "Diddy" Combs, law enforcement sources told ABC News on Tuesday.
The searches, carried out in Los Angeles and Miami on Monday, were part of a federal sex trafficking investigation into the hip-hop and liquor mogul, the sources said.
HSI agents flooded Diddy's LA mansion and gathered evidence as part of an investigation led by prosecutors with the Southern District of New York.
Chopper video from above showed SWAT teams and federal agents with long guns while Combs' two sons were in handcuffs.
On Tuesday, pictures captured Combs' LoveAir jet at the VC Bird International Airport in Antigua and Barbuda, although there was no sign of him there.
While no arrests have been made, a federal investigation has been underway for several months.
Four women have filed civil lawsuits against Combs accusing him of rape, sex trafficking and other alleged abuses.
Several women have spoken with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, the sources said, who dispatched agents to try and gather evidence to corroborate their accounts.
Combs has vehemently denied the allegations.
"Enough is Enough," he said in a social media post. "Sickening allegations have been made against me by individuals looking for a quick payday. Let me be absolutely clear; I did not do any of the awful things being alleged."
Diddy's attorney Aaron Dyer released a longer statement on the rapper's behalf on Tuesday.
"Yesterday, there was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs' residences," the statement said. "There is no excuse for the excessive show of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way his children and employees were treated. Mr. Combs 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. This unprecedented ambush -- paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence -- leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits. There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations. Mr. Combs is innocent and will continue to fight every single day to clear his name."
In November, Combs settled a lawsuit with his ex-girlfriend of 10 years, Cassie Ventura, just one day after she filed an explosive civil suit under the New York Survivors Act.
Upon hearing the news about federal search warrants being executed at both homes, her attorney released a statement saying, "Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct."
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