Sean 'Diddy' Combs probe team launch UK victims search as they jet in from US

P-Diddy has been charged with sex trafficking, drug possession, and fire arms offences in America but has been regular visitor to Britain over the past 30 years

US investigators have flown to London over concerns that P Diddy may have abused women here. British detectives joined the New York team after they arrived as part of their probe into the hip-hop star.

The music mogul – real name Sean Combs – has been charged with sex trafficking, drug possession and firearms offences in America, and has been a regular visitor to Britain for three decades. Last night a US source told us: “Wherever he went, the team are now following. Outside of the States, he enjoyed no place more than the UK.”

Combs, 54, has been in custody since New York cops arrested him two weeks ago over claims dating back to 2008. He is accused of forcing women to take part in filmed, drugged-fuelled orgies with male sex workers. Prosecutors have seized flight records that show his lengthy travel history to the UK.

The source added: “Given the huge amount of time he spent in London, there are concerns that the alleged offending was not confined to America’s shores. “Prosecutors are imploring anyone in the UK who may have information they feel could help the investigation to get in touch.”

They are led by Damian Williams, the prosecutor who helped put Ghislaine Maxwell behind bars for 20 years for procuring girls for paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. Combs is now in the same rat-infested jail where Brit socialite Maxwell, 62, was held before her 2021 trial for sex trafficking.

The New York-born billionaire is one of the world’s richest and most powerful musicians and has made regular trips to Britain since rocketing to fame with the song I’ll Be Missing You in 1997, when he was known as Puff Daddy. In 2001, he attended Sir Elton John’s White Tie and Tiara Ball at the Rocket Man’s Windsor mansion.

Combs was pictured with stars, including socialite Lady Victoria Hervey, who would join him on his yacht at Cannes and at the MTV Awards Party in Barcelona years later. He went on to be courted by high society, including the royals.

In 2007, the rapper famously performed at the Concert for Diana at Wembley before being pictured with William and Harry at a backstage party. The same year he was pictured leaving an event attended by David and Victoria Beckham.

Combs made many visits between 2008 and 2010 while filming and promoting Get Him to the Greek. He appeared in a supporting role in the film alongside top-billed stars Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. While promoting the comedy in 2010, Brand said of Combs: “He looked after me, he took me on an enforced holiday to Vegas.”

Comedian Brand – who has himself denied sex assault claims that surfaced last year – added: “He’s a very intense man because I think he comes from nothing, and now he’s very, very powerful. People that do stuff like that, they’re intense.

“Now, I like him, he’s very influential. Say that you don’t want to do something and Diddy does want you to do it, it’s really hard to not do that thing … you still do it because you think, ‘Ah, don’t upset him’.”

In June 2010, Combs visited London again and returned three months later to launch his fashion brand Sean John. While at the event, he said: “I have always enjoyed travelling throughout Europe and spend much of my vacation time here. London truly feels like a second home to me.”

He was back in January 2011, where he was seen at the private members’ club The Hospital Club. He then made numerous trips in 2012 and the following years. In May 2017, Combs brought his then-girlfriend Cassie Ventura to the UK, dining at a Mayfair restaurant.

Unknown to the world at the time, the rapper was abusing his partner and only months earlier had been caught on hotel cameras in the States dragging and kicking her.

Cassie, 38, sued Combs last November over what she described as years of sexual, ­physical and emotional abuse. The suit was settled the next day, but it resulted in intense scrutiny of the rapper, and lawsuits from more women followed.

He denied the allegations. But after the CCTV footage emerged, he admitted beating his ex, saying in a video apology he was “truly sorry” and his actions were “inexcusable”. Days before Cassie filed her lawsuit, Combs appeared on the Graham Norton Show in London. While on the programme, he ran through his past names across “different eras” and said: “Now, this is the ultimate goal – I have become Love.”

On September 16, he was arrested in a New York hotel on charges of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking by force, and transportation for purposes of prostitution. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted it could land him in prison for life or a minimum of 15 years. A 14-page indictment accused Combs of turning his giant business empire into a criminal enterprise that threatened and abused women.

It described a long-standing pattern of violently assaulting and coercing women to “fulfil his sexual desires”. The indictment says Combs forced them to take part in “elaborate and produced” sex performances, dubbed “freak-offs” and sometimes lasting for days, which he directed.

A search of his homes in Miami and Los Angeles found drugs and more than a thousand bottles of baby oil and lubricant. Agents seized guns and ammo, including three AR-15 semi-automatic rifles with defaced serial numbers.

A judge denied Combs bail after prosecutors argued he was a threat to the community. His appeal against that decision failed. Diddy’s lawyer Marc Agnifilo has said: “Mr Combs is a fighter. He’s going to fight this to the end. He’s innocent.”

Mr Agnifilo is reported to have explained why Combs had so many bottles of baby oil by saying he liked to “buy in bulk” like many Americans. Mr Agnifilio told a US newspaper he had visited the star at Brooklyn’s Metropolitan Detention Center.

He added: “He’s laser-focused, he’s confident. We’re going through our defence as we do every day. His spirits are relatively good.”The Metropolitan Police and the US Department of Homeland Security declined to comment.