Thomas Markle, the father of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, has been arrested by FBI agents in Florida on suspicion of possessing child sexual abuse material, following discoveries of suspected material linked to him in Mexico and the Philippines.

Markle, 82, was arrested at the assisted-living residence where he lives in Lakeland. News of the arrest emerged on Friday, days after information about a Mexican storage unit he previously rented was passed to federal authorities.

The discoveries have prompted a joint American–Mexican investigation, alongside a separate Philippine inquiry in which police are reportedly close to bringing formal charges.

In Mexico, attention centres on unit 22 at a gated storage compound near Markle’s former home in Rosarito. About 20 boxes were found during a newspaper investigation into his earlier life among the town’s American residents.

The investigation alleges that the contents included black-and-white photographs of naked Asian women, some appearing particularly young, alongside books and magazines containing sexual material involving children. Photographs apparently taken on a beach showed children, while old videotapes bore concerning titles.

Old computers, hard drives and USB devices were also found, together with a paper plate bearing the words “DARK WEB” in red marker and several internet addresses. What the drives and tapes contain remains unknown.

Mexican police raided the unit last weekend, hours after the findings were published. Sexual offences investigators, computer forensic specialists and officials from the Baja California attorney general’s office took part.

The search warrant authorised officers to seek evidence of possession of child sexual abuse material and possible aggravated human trafficking. That describes the scope of the search, not a finding that either offence occurred. Officers seized a computer, USB devices, tapes and magazines before locking the unit and attaching official seizure notices.

Markle reportedly began renting the unit in 2017, stopped paying about two years ago and moved to the Philippines in early 2025 without clearing it. The business’s owners and employees said they had not known about the material and expressed shock.

His son, Thomas Markle Jr, 60, Meghan’s half-brother, alleged that he had previously discovered hundreds or thousands of child sexual abuse images in boxes delivered to his father’s Philippine home.

Investigators in Cebu reportedly confirmed finding explicit material depicting minors of both sexes on digital devices among Markle’s belongings. Suspected abuse images were allegedly found at his former Philippine home last month. The two inquiries concern different locations and evidence; the contents of the Mexican digital devices and tapes remain an unresolved part of the case.