Freshly released documents suggest Jeffrey Epstein may have been involved in drug trafficking

A heavily redacted memo reads: "DEA reporting indicates the above individuals are involved in illegitimate wire transfers, which are tied to illicit drug and/or prostitution activities occurring in the US Virgin Islands and New York City."

Sources told CBS News that prosecutors were previously unaware of the DEA probe.

The lengthy investigation is detailed in a 69-page memo marked “law enforcement sensitive”.

Large sections of the document remain blacked out, and it is unclear what initially prompted the DEA to open the case.

The 2015 memo noted the matter was still “judicial pending” at the time it was written.

One law enforcement source said this designation typically suggests investigators were awaiting court approval for search warrants. Another said it could indicate an arrest had been made in connection with the case.

The document appears to have originated from a DEA request to the Organised Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Fusion Centre in Virginia seeking intelligence on Epstein and other targets as part of an active investigation.

It also reveals previously undisclosed probes linked to the paedophile financier.

These include multiple Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigations - one in West Palm Beach opened in 2006 and closed in 2008, another launched in Las Vegas in 2009, and a separate inquiry opened in Paris in June 2013 and shut several months later.

The memo also references a potentially nine-year FBI investigation into Epstein, which began in 2006 and remained active until at least 2015.

It details prior law enforcement contacts and identifies bank accounts linked to Epstein in Switzerland, France, the Cayman Islands and New York.

Around £50million in suspicious wire transfers between 2010 and 2015 is referenced, though the individuals tied to the transactions are redacted.

The memo names several businesses connected to Epstein that have previously faced scrutiny.

While one company name is redacted, two are identified as SLK Designs LLC and Hyperion Air.

Hyperion Air served as a holding company for Epstein’s aircraft, while SLK Designs was run by two women included in Epstein’s 2008 non-prosecution agreement and named as potential co-conspirators.

The two women were questioned in 2010 about Epstein’s relationship with the then-prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, told CBS News that tracing the money is central to uncovering the full extent of Epstein’s crimes.

He said: "It appears Epstein was involved in criminal activity that went way beyond paedophilia and sex trafficking, which makes it even more outrageous that Pam Bondi is sitting on several million unreleased files."

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