Brendan Paul, the man accused of being Sean “Diddy” Combs’ drug mule, was arrested on Monday (Mar. 25) on cocaine and marijuana possession charges. According to Rolling Stone, Paul was detained by Miami-Dade police at Opa-Locka Airport around 4:30 p.m. ET. Local authorities were reportedly working alongside Homeland Security when the arrest was made, as the latter raided Diddy’s homes in Miami and Los Angeles as part of a sex trafficking investigation.
The coordinated raids indicated a criminal investigation after the Bad Boy Records founder became the center of several civil lawsuits. However, it’s unclear if Paul’s arrest is connected to a larger investigation involving Combs. The New York native was confirmed to be in Miami at the time of the arrest, per video footage obtained by TMZ, but Miami Police told Rolling Stone that there was no record of him being arrested.
Arresting officers found cocaine in Paul’s “personal travel bags” and he was taken to Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in Miami where he was booked on charges of cocaine possession and possession of a controlled substance. He has since posted bail and been released, according to TMZ.
Paul was named in producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones’ lawsuit against Combs, where Jones accused Paul of being Combs’ “mule,” claiming he “acquired and distributed” drugs to Combs and his associates. “Members of the enterprise and their associates 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,” the lawsuit noted.
Jones claimed he “personally witnessed” Paul transport or intend to transport illegal substances in his luggage while traveling between Los Angeles, Miami, Virginia, the Caribbean and London on three separate occasions in December 2022, April 2023 and November 2023.
The $30 million lawsuit filed by Jones also accused Diddy of sexual assault and harassment during his time working for the music mogul from September 2022 to November 2023. In a statement to Us Weekly, Diddy’s attorney Shawn Holley denied the accusations calling Jones a “liar.”
“Lil Rod is nothing more than a liar who filed a $30 million lawsuit, shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday,” Holley said. “His reckless name-dropping about events that are pure fiction and simply did not happen is nothing more than a transparent attempt to garner headlines.”
On Monday, Diddy’s homes in Los Angeles and Miami were both raided by Homeland Security.
“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,” Homeland Security shared in a March 25 statement to Us Weekly. “We will provide further information as it becomes available.”