DEA doc in Epstein files includes probe into suspicious money transfers with illegal drugs links

A Drug Enforcement Agency document in the Justice Department's files on late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein includes a probe into suspicious money transfers possibly linked with illegal drugs.

The 2015 file shows that Epstein was targeted along with 14 other individuals in a DEA probe that lasted at least five years, CBS News reported Monday.

"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 U.S. Virgin Islands and New York City," the 69-page document reads.

The memo is marked "law enforcement sensitive" and is heavily redacted, including the names of the 14 other targets and much of the investigation's details.

The document appears to come from a DEA request to an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces Fusion Center in Virginia seeking information from other agencies related to Epstein and the other targets as part of an ongoing case.

An unnamed law enforcement source told CBS News that for the DEA to open the case, there would have to be a drug nexus, and that the request to the Fusion Center indicated the issue was part of a "significant" investigation rather than a routine information inquiry.

The document includes a DEA case number, noting that the case opened on Dec. 17, 2010, in New York. It also says that the matter is "judicial pending," indicating that the investigation remained active at the time the memo was drafted five years later. Another unnamed law enforcement source told the news outlet that this designation suggests investigators may have been awaiting court approval for search warrants or other legal action. 

Anonymous sources involved in the 2018 case that put Epstein in jail for sex trafficking charges told CBS News that the prosecutors in that probe were not aware of the earlier DEA investigation.

The DEA file also reveals the existence of other investigations with some links to Epstein. These probes include a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigation in West Palm Beach, opened in 2006 and closed in 2008; another ICE investigation in Las Vegas, opened in 2009 and listed as "pending/01/27/2010"; an additional ICE investigation in Paris, opened in June 2013 and closed months later, titled Operation Angel Watch; and an FBI investigation opened in 2006 that remained active in 2015.

The document also includes prior law enforcement contact and identifies bank accounts linked to Epstein, including those in the Cayman Islands, France, New York, and Switzerland.

The file notes approximately $50 million in suspicious wire transfers from 2010 to 2015, though the names of the individuals linked to those transactions are redacted.