Speculation over whether rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs fled the country spiked Monday after his plane landed in Antigua.
TMZ reported Monday evening that Combs’ LoveAir LLC jet was on the ground in Antigua, although it said there was no proof the rap mogul was aboard.
Later, People reported that he “was confirmed not to be on the flight.”
The report in People said he was seen at the Miami Opa-Locka airport Monday afternoon. That would have been during the time flight tracking data said his private jet left Van Nuys, California, en route to Antigua.
According to NBC News, which cited law enforcement sources it did not name, Homeland Security Investigations agents executed search warrants on the rapper’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami on Monday.
The report said authorities took phones from Combs, who was in Miami at the time.
He had been scheduled to leave for the Bahamas, but it was not known if he made the trip, NBC News reported.
Wherever Combs might be, one thing is certain: He is in the middle of a major investigation.
TMZ said the raids are most likely linked to sex trafficking and sexual abuse allegations that are the focus of several lawsuits filed against him.
Should Diddy be allowed to leave the country while the investigation is underway?
Although Combs’ plane was in Antigua, what happens next might be hard to decipher.
“This aircraft is not available for public tracking per request from the owner/operator,” the flight tracking site FlightAware.com said.
FlightAware representative Kathleen Bangs said plane owners often file federal privacy forms, and the site honors those requests, according to the Miami Herald.
“This is not uncommon,” Bangs said.
Wherever Combs is, the heat he is facing escalated after Monday’s raids.
They were undertaken as part of a criminal inquiry led by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, according to The New York Times, which cited a law enforcement official it did not name.
“Earlier today, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York executed law enforcement actions as part of an ongoing investigation, with assistance from HSI Los Angeles, HSI Miami, and our local law enforcement partners,” a Department of Homeland Security representative said, according to CNN.
“We will provide further information as it becomes available,” the representative said.
According to People, since November, five people have filed lawsuits against Combs, with sexual assault, sex trafficking and domestic violence among the allegations against him.
