An associate of Sean “Diddy” Combs was arrested on Monday, the same day two of the Bad Boy Records founder’s homes were raided by Homeland Security Investigations agents.
Former Syracuse University basketball player Brendan Paul was arrested by Miami-Dade Police Department officers at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on felony charges for possession of suspected cocaine and possession of suspected marijuana candy, an arrest affidavit obtained by USA TODAY states. The arrest was made as a result of a joint effort with Miami-Dade, the Department of Homeland Security and Customs and Border Protection, per the affidavit.
“The defendant had the contraband inside of his person travel bags, which he claimed prior to being searched,” the affidavit states. Upon testing, officers determined the substances were cocaine and edibles.
He was released on a $2,500 bond on Tuesday and has a hearing set for April 24. Attorney information was not available for Paul.
Paul is referred to as Combs’ “mule” in Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones Jr.‘s civil lawsuit against the Bad Boy founder and Cuba Gooding Jr. for sexual assault and harassment.
In an amended lawsuit filed in a New York federal district court by Jones on Monday, he refers to Paul as Combs’ “mule,” writing that he allegedly “procured, transported and distributed ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, marijuana, mushrooms, and tuci by packing these substances in their carry-on luggage and going through TSA.”
Tuci is described in the lawsuit as “a pink drug that is a combination of ecstasy and cocaine.”
USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Combs to comment on Paul’s arrest and allegations.
Jones worked with Combs on his most recent record, “The Love Album: Off the Grid.” According to Jones, he and Combs worked together between September 2022 and November 2023, a partnership that resulted in nine songs on “The Love Album” for which Jones is credited as a producer. Diddy has denied Jones’ allegations against him.
In the lawsuit, Jones alleges Combs “required” him and Paul “to carry (Combs’) firearm on their person whenever they went out.”
Defendant Kristina Khorram had Paul, Moy Baun and Frankie Santella carry out an assortment of responsibilities ranging from drug trafficking to the procurement of sex workers for Combs, according to Jones.
Paul was among one of Combs’ employees that “would negotiate the fees the sex workers received and would ensure that the workers are paid,” per the court documents.
According to Jones, City Girls rapper Yung Miami, along with two other women wellness coach Jade Ramey and rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson‘s ex-girlfriend and co-parent Daphne Joy, were among the women “who were paid a monthly fee to work as Mr. Combs’ sex workers.”
Rodney Jones Jr. alleges Yung Miami transported a drug known as ‘pink cocaine’
Additionally, Jones claimed that in April 2023 Yung Miami brought tuci on a private jet from Miami because “Sean Combs wanted tuci but Brendan forgot it.” He alleges Khorram called Yung Miami to procure the drug while Combs was rehearsing for the Something in the Water Music Festival in Virginia.
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s National Center for Biotechnology Information, “tusi” is a concoction “sometimes referred to as ‘pink cocaine’ as it typically comes in the form of pink powder.” Studies have shown that “the majority of tusi samples contain ketamine, often combined with … MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids, and/or new psychoactive substances.”
Combs and Yung Miami were first linked in 2021. They later confirmed they were dating in a June 2022 “Caresha Please” podcast episode.
The pair were aloof about their relationship status, but in an April 2023 profile with The Cut, the “Act Up” rapper said she was single.
USA TODAY has reached out to reps for Yung Miami, Ramey and Daphne Joy.
Jones’ lawsuit has implicated other celebrities, including Yung Miami, whose unnamed cousin was accused of sexual assault after she allegedly “burst into the bathroom and began groping” Jones during a gathering on Thanksgiving Day 2022.
Jones also claims producer Stevie J helped recruit sex workers for Combs and participated in sex parties referred to as “freak-offs” (a term Combs allegedly used to refer to sexual encounters with sex workers) according to the lawsuit.
Diddy’s homes in Los Angeles, Miami raided by Homeland Security Investigations
Jones’ amended lawsuit follows the reported raid of two of Combs’ homes. The homes were reportedly searched by HSI on Monday as part of a federal investigation.
Federal officials raided Combs’ Los Angeles home Monday, according to Rolling Stone and local Los Angeles news station Fox 11, amid lawsuits filed against him from accusers alleging the rapper and music mogul has raped or sexually assaulted them. Agents also searched Combs’ Miami residence Monday, Rolling Stone and The Associated Press reported.
The day after Combs’ homes were raided, attorney Aaron Dyer insisted on the rapper’s innocence and criticized the federal invasion for its “gross overuse of military-level force.” Dyer added that Combs was not detained by authorities, nor were any of the rapper’s family members arrested during the raid.
“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,” Dyer said in a statement to USA TODAY on Tuesday.
Contributing: KiMi Robinson, Taijuan Moorman
First appeared on www.usatoday.com