Mexican investigators raid storage unit rented by Thomas Markle

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This image taken on November 1st, 2026 shows a storage facility where Mexican authorities seized a storage unit with belongings of US Thomas Markle, father of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, during a search for alleged child sexual abuse material, in Baja Malibu, outskirts Tijuana, Baja California state, Mexico. Photo by Guillermo Arias / AFP

TIJUANA, Mexico - Mexican authorities raided a storage unit rented by Meghan Markle's estranged father as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged child sex abuse material, the state prosecutor's office told AFP on Monday.

Last week, Philippine police said they were investigating a laptop found alongside images of child abuse at a former home of Thomas Markle, whose daughter is married to Britain's Prince Harry.

The 82-year-old, who has denied all claims against him, had lived in Mexico before moving to the Philippines in 2025 and later returning to the United States.

The prosecutor's office of Mexico's Baja California state said Monday it had received an anonymous tip about the existence of child sex abuse material in a storage unit rented by Thomas Markle.

Investigators said the owner of the storage unit reported Markle had stopped paying rent for it in 2024 but his possessions remained secured inside.

Authorities reported finding "magazines from Asia" dating back 20 years, without giving further details, as well as computer equipment that has been taken in for further investigation.

British tabloid The Sun first reported last month that Markle's son, Thomas Markle Jr., had discovered the child abuse images while going through boxes found in his father's former home.

Meghan Markle said in a statement she was "deeply distressed" by accusations her father had possessed images of child abuse, adding she had blocked contact between him and her children over previous "troubling and disturbing" allegations.

After the reports, Meghan said that in 2018 she had seen a letter sent to London's Metropolitan Police and Royalty and Specialist Protection making similar accusations.

"It made troubling and disturbing allegations against my father, and I was given assurances that these were being investigated," she said in a statement.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry left Britain and quit royal duties in 2020 amid a bitter royal family feud.

They made an unexpected return with their children to live in the United Kingdom in August. — Agence France Presse