Sean "Diddy" Combs under federal custody after arrest in New York

Artist and entrepreneur Sean Combs, known professionally as Diddy, was arrested on federal charges allegedly related to an ongoing human trafficking investigation that led to raids on his properties a few months ago.

Entertainment news outlet TMZ broke the story by interviewing Diddy's lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, who confirmed the arrest occurred in New York City. While The New York Times revealed that Combs had been indicted by a grand jury.

Reportedly, Combs was in the Manhattan midtown hotel, where he took residence last week, when he was arrested. The arrest was scheduled for tomorrow (Tuesday). It's unknown what was behind the decision to do it a day early.

"We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney's Office. Sean "Diddy" Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man, and proven philanthropist who has spent the last 30 years building an empire, adoring his children, and working to uplift the Black community," Agnifilo said.

"He is an imperfect person but is not criminal. To his credit,, Mr. Combs has been nothing but cooperative with this investigation, and he voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges. Please reserve your judgment until you have all the facts. These are the acts of an innocent man with nothing to hide, and he looks forward to clearing his name in court," he added.

The raids in Florida and California

The raids on Diddy's properties, including his mansion in Star Island, Miami, and his Beverly Hills home, involved dozens of police cars, trucks, helicopters, and even law enforcement boats in Miami. The presence of such a large law enforcement operation was a sign of big operation.

In images captured by local TV, several men were handcuffs outside the Star Island home, including two of the artists sons, who were later released.

Sources have indicated that the case is being handled out of the Southern District of New York. Diddy has faced multiple lawsuits in recent months accusing him of rape, sexual assault, and other illegal activities, all of which he has vehemently denied.

This is a developing story