By Diana Dasrath, Andrew Blankstein, Jonathan Dienst and Doha Madani -
NBC News
Federal agents found firearms during raids on properties belonging to music mogul Sean
Diddy
Combs in Los Angeles and Miami, three sources familiar with the matter reported Tuesday.
The Homeland Security Investigations agency on Monday executed warrants from the District Court for the Southern District of New York and seized Combs' phones in Miami before he left for a trip to the Bahamas.
Combs
is the subject of a federal investigation
amid several lawsuits filed against him in recent months, a source familiar with the matter said.
A law enforcement officer carries a bag of evidence to a van Monday as federal agents stand at the entrance to a property belonging to rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs on Star Island in Miami Beach, Florida.
Rebecca Blackwell/AP
According to the source, three women and one man were interviewed by federal officials in Manhattan in connection with allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms.
It was not immediately clear what type of firearms were found or to whom they belonged.
Aaron Dyer, Combs' attorney, called Monday's searches an
"excessive use of force on a military level
. "
Neither Combs nor any of his family members have been arrested, Dyer said in his statement.
“There is no excuse for the excessive display of force and hostility exhibited by authorities or the way their children and employees were treated,” Dyer stated.
"Mr. Combs was never detained, but rather he spoke and cooperated with authorities."
Combs is innocent and “will continue to fight every day to clear his name,” Dyer said, adding that Combs had not been found responsible for the allegations against him.
Since November, Combs has been the subject of numerous civil lawsuits stemming from a civil lawsuit by his former partner Cassie, who accused him of physically and sexually abusing her for years.
Cassie, whose full name is Casandra Ventura,
relied on New York's Adult Survivors Law
, which gave adult victims of sexual assault a one-year window to file civil lawsuits regardless of the statute of limitations.
Federal agents at the entrance to a property belonging to rapper Sean "Diddy" Combs on Star Island in Miami Beach, Florida, on Monday. Rebecca Blackwell / AP
Cassie and Combs settled the lawsuit a day after it was filed in New York.
Combs has rejected the allegations, calling them offensive and outrageous.
Since then, three other women have filed lawsuits in the Southern District of New York alleging Combs sexually assaulted them.
Two of them stated that they were teenagers at the time.
Combs has denied each of the sexual assault allegations,
calling them “disgusting
. ”
A former employee who worked for Combs from September 2022 to November 2023 also filed a lawsuit in February alleging that Combs sexually harassed, drugged and threatened him for more than a year.
In his lawsuit, Rodney
Lil Rod
Jones, who worked as a producer, also alleged that he had
video and audio evidence of Combs
, members of his staff and others “engaging in serious illegal activities.”
Those cases are open.
Combs has denied the allegations.