Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox. Subscribe to our sports newsletter here.

Former Syracuse men’s basketball player and alleged assistant of Sean “Diddy” Combs, Brendan Paul, has been charged with felony drug possession following his arrest last month amid a federal sex trafficking probe into Combs.

Lawyer Brian Bieber entered a not-guilty plea Wednesday on behalf of Paul, who was a walk-on guard at Syracuse for two seasons from 2018 to 2020. The plea was made at Paul’s arraignment in a Miami-Dade County courtroom, according to NBC Miami.

Paul was arrested at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport last month after federal authorities searched his bag and allegedly found cocaine and marijuana candy, both of which are felonies in Florida.

He was taken into custody at the same time authorities were raiding Combs’ Miami and Los Angeles estates.

In March, The New York Times reported that federal agents raided homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area connected to Combs, who has been accused of sexual assault and sex trafficking in multiple lawsuits over the last several months.

Paul was first mentioned in a February lawsuit from music producer Rodney “Lil Rod” Jones, who claimed Combs sexually assaulted him while working on his 2022 album. The federal case, filed in the Southern District of New York, mentions Paul’s name 19 times and states that Paul worked as Combs’s “mule,” acquiring and distributing his drugs and guns. There are multiple photos of Paul and Combs together in Jones’ lawsuit.

The lawsuit states Paul “aided and abetted” in Combs and his co-conspirators’ sex trafficking, financially benefiting. According to the lawsuit, Paul was also responsible for paying sex workers in cash.

The Department of Homeland Security confirmed to The Daily News in March that the raids at Combs’ homes were part of a sex trafficking investigation.

In a statement to The Daily News, Combs’ attorney referred to the operation as “a gross overuse of military-level force” and noted Combs “was never detained but spoke to and cooperated with authorities.”

Correction: A previous version of this article used a general file photo. The photo depicted the legs of a Black man who played for Syracuse basketball. Brendan Paul is white, and there was no clarification of Paul’s race in the story. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on April 24, 2024 at 9:12 pm

Contact Henry: henrywobrien1123@gmail.com