New York: Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has been arrested, and his lawyer has confirmed he is facing federal charges in New York.

Details of the charges weren’t immediately announced by prosecutors, but Combs’ lawyer, Marc Agnifilo, issued a statement saying: “We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr Combs by the US Attorneys’ Office.”

He added that Combs had gone to New York last week in anticipation of the charges being brought. “He is an imperfect person, but he is not a criminal,” Agnifilo said.

In March, federal Homeland Security Investigations agents searched two mansions belonging to Combs in Los Angeles and Miami as part of an ongoing sex-trafficking investigation, two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press at the time.

It was not immediately clear if the federal charges related to this investigation.

US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams announced the arrest on X, formerly Twitter: “Earlier this evening, federal agents arrested Sean Combs, based on a sealed indictment filed by the SDNY. We expect to move to unseal the indictment in the morning and will have more to say at that time.”

Entertainment website TMZ said: “Homeland Security swooped into a midtown hotel late Monday where Diddy was staying and they arrested him. We have unconfirmed reports the feds are searching his hotel room. We’re told Diddy was taken to the FBI field office in Manhattan.”

His defence attorney Aaron Dyer called the raids “a gross use of military-level force”, and said the allegations were “meritless” and that Combs was “innocent and will continue to fight” to clear his name.