8:05pm PT — Just a few hours before Diddy got caught, he confidently strolled through NYC with his son King CombsHe even stopped to greet some fans and take selfies.

7:13 PM PT — A law enforcement source tells TMZ … DiddyThe arrest was scheduled for Tuesday, but something happened that forced federal authorities to intervene a day earlier.

However, the US Attorney Damian Williams says federal agents arrested him on a sealed indictment filed by the Southern District of New York.

Diddy was arrested Monday night and taken into custody in New York, TMZ has learned.

Sources tell TMZ … Homeland Security raided a downtown hotel where Diddy was staying late Monday night and arrested him. We have unconfirmed reports that federal authorities are searching his hotel room.

We hear Diddy has been taken to the FBI office in Manhattan.

It appears that the action was taken in connection with the ongoing criminal investigation into alleged sex trafficking and other crimes that led to the issuance and execution of search warrants at Diddy’s homes in Beverly Hills and MiamiAs we reported, a grand jury has heard testimony from several prosecutors in recent months.

Diddy’s lawyer, Marc Agnifilotells TMZ, “We are disappointed in the decision to prosecute the U.S. Attorney for what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs. Sean “Diddy” Combs is a music icon, self-made entrepreneur, loving family man and proven philanthropist who has spent the past 30 years building an empire, adoring his children and working to improve the black community.”

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