When federal agents were raiding the Los Angeles and Miami homes of Sean “Diddy” Combs on Monday, March 25, the disgraced music mogul was nowhere in sight. Left to face the law enforcement personnel searching the L.A. home were his sons, Justin, 30, and Christian, 25, while Diddy’s private jet apparently had left the country.
The search by federal agents with Homeland Security Investigations was conducted in connection to allegations of sex trafficking, sexual assault, and involvement in the solicitation and distribution of illegal narcotics and firearms. The warrant for the raid originated from the Southern District of New York, NBC News reports.
While multiple men were detained and placed in handcuffs on Diddy’s properties, noticeably missing was the 54-year-old music exec himself. In an attempt to solve the mystery of Diddy’s whereabouts, an X user began tracking a $60 million blacked-out Gulfstream G550 jet.
Using flight tracking software, the X user by the name of @mvz77dallas was able to locate Diddy’s aircraft, tail number N1969C, just north of Puerto Rico at around 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time. The flight number revealed the plane was registered to LOVEAIR LLC and operated by luxury private jet company Silver Air.
“@Diddy Gulfstream G550 (N1969C / SIS69) departed LAX earlier today. Destination unknown. Currently flying at 42000 feet north of Puerto Rico,” tweeted the X user.
At around 6:05 p.m. ET, the aircraft was spotted near Barbuda before turning and doing a 180 loop to Antigua.
“UPDATE @Diddy Private Jet (Gulfstream G550 N1969 / SIS69 ) departed Van Nuys airport earlier today now descending to land at remote airfield in Barbuda,” the X user tweeted in his update.
The X user clarified in a follow up tweet, “FYI it was difficult to figure out his exact landing spot due to the aircraft’s erratic descent. I thought he was landing at Barbuda’s, but turned and did a 180 loop to Antigua at about 2,200 feet. Also, the aircraft turned off its radar signature within seconds of touchdown.”
It is unclear whether Diddy was aboard the private jet when it landed in Antigua.
Social media responded to the possibility of the “THE LOVE ALBUM : OFF THE GRID ” rapper getting out of dodge during the federal investigation and not taking his sons along.
“Fled and leaving your kids in the house that’s being raided is crazy,” one comment read.
“Leaving your kids behind is so dirty,” said another.
Some assumed Diddy was tipped off and fled to a country that won’t send him back to face his alleged crimes.
Not sure his jet has the fuel to get him somewhere that won't ship him back
— 🅿️ete Ⓜ️anning (@PeterFManning3) March 25, 2024
Antigua and Barbuda, the twin-island nation that Diddy is believed to have gone to, is a small country in the Caribbean, near the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.
If he had been the subject of an arrest warrant instead of a search warrant, that nation might not have exempted him from extradition to America.
According to the U.S. State Department, the nation entered into an agreement in 1981, following its independence from the United Kingdom, to work in partnership together regarding some matters of law enforcement.
“Antigua and Barbuda’s location close to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico makes it an attractive trans-shipment point for narcotics traffickers,” the State Department reports. “To address these problems, the United States and Antigua and Barbuda signed a series of counternarcotic and anticrime treaties and agreements, including a maritime law enforcement agreement subsequently amended to include overflight and order-to-land provisions, a bilateral extradition treaty, and a mutual legal assistance treaty.”
Diddy has been the subject of a federal investigation since November and has faced a wave of lawsuits filed against him, particularly concerning his role as a powerful fixture in entertainment. With power, the lawsuits suggest, also came abuse.
One example was a lawsuit filed by his former girlfriend Cassie under the New York Adult Survivors Act, which accused him of long-term physical and sexual abuse. Her lawsuit originally asked for $30 million and was settled in less than 24 hours for an undisclosed amount.
The lawsuit ticked off a legion of other filings — leading to the aforementioned raid.
Amidst the raid, Cassie’s lawyers have released a statement saying, “We will always support law enforcement when it seeks to prosecute those that have violated the law. Hopefully, this is the beginning of a process that will hold Mr. Combs responsible for his depraved conduct.”
