Chicago rapper Lil Durk, whose real name is Durk Banks, was arrested on Thursday in Florida just hours before he was set to board a private jet to Italy.

This arrest follows the unsealing of a federal criminal complaint in California, which links him to an alleged murder-for-hire plot.

The 32-year-old rapper faces serious charges, including contracting five associates to murder fellow rapper Quando Rondo, born Tyquian Terrel Bowman. This alleged plot is said to be in retaliation for the 2020 slaying of Chicago rapper King Von. The complaint reveals that Banks “put out a monetary bounty” for Bowman’s killing.

According to the complaint, the violent incident at the center of this case occurred at a Los Angeles gas station in August 2022, resulting in the tragic death of Saviay’a Robinson, Quando Rondo’s cousin. Surveillance footage captured the harrowing scene.

On the day of his arrest, Banks’ associates were taken into custody in Chicago early Thursday morning as federal agents executed a series of search warrants. At that time, Banks was in Fort Lauderdale, where he had booked international flights to Dubai and Switzerland, but reportedly did not board either plane.

As the investigation progressed, the FBI learned at approximately 6:40 p.m. Florida time that Banks had secured a private jet to Italy scheduled to depart at 9 p.m. Federal agents apprehended him about an hour before the flight while he was en route to the airport in Miami.

Following his arrest, Banks was held in Broward County Jail until Friday morning, when he was transferred into the custody of U.S. marshals.

In the charging documents, federal investigators highlighted that “witnesses and/or their family members have already received threats and/or have been contacted in what appear to be attempts to influence their participation in this investigation.”

Notably, Banks was recently honored with keys to the city in the nearby suburbs of Broadview and Bellwood, celebrating his influence and success as one of the leading figures in the Chicago drill rap scene.

This genre, which gained traction through artists like Chief Keef and G Herbo, is characterized by its intense and often violent themes, reflecting the tumultuous reality of gang life.

Lil Durk’s legal troubles are not new; he was previously convicted in Cook County for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number, though those records were expunged in 2022.

Additionally, prosecutors in Georgia dropped attempted murder charges against him from a 2019 incident that left a man seriously injured outside an Atlanta restaurant.