Newly released police body camera footage reveals the arrest of Brendan Paul, a suspected associate of music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, accused of serving as a "mule" for drugs and guns. The video, obtained by NBC6, depicts Paul, 25, being apprehended at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on Monday.
He is seen in handcuffs, escorted out of a U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility, and placed in the back of a Miami-Dade Police vehicle while wearing a blue-white hoodie.
According to Miami-Dade Police, Paul was arrested for possessing cocaine and marijuana-laced candy, as detailed in an arrest affidavit, and now faces charges related to cocaine and controlled substances. Paul, a former basketball player for Syracuse University in 2019, was released from jail on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, footage from TMZ shows Diddy pacing at the same airport on Monday as Homeland Security agents conducted raids on his properties in Miami Beach and Los Angeles. These raids, reportedly linked to an ongoing sex trafficking investigation, involve at least five law enforcement sources, according to NBC.
Despite reports that Diddy's plane was bound for the Caribbean during the raids on Monday, it returned to the airport on Wednesday. However, Diddy's whereabouts remain unconfirmed, and he has not faced criminal charges.
Responding to the raids, Diddy's attorney issued a statement on Tuesday, denouncing the events as an "unprecedented ambush" and asserting Diddy's innocence.
The statement, attributed to attorney Aaron Dyer, criticized the use of excessive force during the execution of search warrants at Diddy's residences, emphasizing the mistreatment of his children and employees. Dyer vowed that Diddy would continue to vigorously defend his innocence.