Yahoo News ‘We brought a saw’: FBI found diamonds, cash, passports, CDs and hard drives after cracking open safe in 2019 raid on Epstein’s Upper East Side townhouse
Photos taken during an FBI raid on Jeffrey Epstein’s eight-story townhouse on Manhattan’s Upper East Side in 2019 have been released for the first time.
Among the images shown to the jury in Ghislaine Maxwell’s underage sex-trafficking trial was one showing a safe found in a fifth-floor dressing room that was sawed open by the FBI and contained hard drives, CDs, diamonds, a large amount of US currency, and passports belonging to Epstein.
On Monday, FBI special agent Kelly Maguire testified in Ms Maxwell’s trial at the Manhattan federal court.
She led the team that searched the 40-room, 19,000 square foot property at 9 East 71st Street on 6 and 7 July 2019 and walked the jury through what the photos depicted.
Ms Maguire, from the child exploitation and human trafficking task force, said they arrived at Epstein’s property at around 5.30pm on 6 July after obtaining a search warrant for the property, and forced their way into the building when no one had answered the door bell.
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After conducting a sweep to ensure no one was home, they methodically searched the 40 rooms, finding CDs and hard drives stashed in plastic bins and draws throughout the home.
She said they found the safe in a closet in a fifth floor dressing room and pulled it into the middle of the room.
When asked by a US assistant attorney how they opened the safe, she replied: “We brought a saw.”
They took a photo showing everything they had recovered from the safe placed on top of it.
They eventually concluded their search early the next morning.
Prosecutors had previously revealed they found $70,000 in cash, 48 diamonds and a passport with Epstein’s photo in a different name and issued by a foreign country when they sought to deny Epstein’s bail application on sex trafficking charges.
It is the first time the FBI have revealed they also found hard drives in the safe.
Epstein was arrested on 6 July on federal child sex trafficking charges and died by suicide just over a month later on 10 August while awaiting trial.
Prosecutors in Ms Maxwell’s trial have said she groomed young women and “served them up” for Epstein to abuse.
Ms Maxwell faces six charges; one each of enticement of a minor to travel to engage in illegal sex acts, transportation of a minor with intent to engage in illegal sex acts, sex trafficking of a minor, and three counts of conspiracy related to the other counts.
She has denied all the charges.
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