NEW YORK, Sept 17 — Rapper Sean "Diddy” Combs was arrested in Manhattan yesterday evening and taken to the FBI field office there, after he was indicted by a grand jury.

Charges in the indictment are not immediately clear, reported New York Times.

Combs' arrest is believed to be in connection with the ongoing criminal investigation into alleged sex trafficking and other offenses that led to search warrants issued and executed at Combs' homes in Beverly Hills and Miami.

A statement from his legal team stated that they were disappointed with the decision to prosecute him and noted that he had been cooperative with the investigation and had "voluntarily relocated to New York last week in anticipation of these charges.”

The artist's attorney, Marc Agnifilo, told TMZ, "We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Combs by the US 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.

"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.”

Combs, 54, who is also known as Puff Daddy, was a key figure in the global rise of hip-hop in the 1990s and 2000s, helping to make stars like the Notorious B.I.G. and Mary J. Blige.

He has been under intense public scrutiny since a former girlfriend, Casandra Ventura, filed a lawsuit last November accusing him of years of sexual and physical abuse.

The rapper settled the suit with the R&B singer who was signed to Combs' record label — in one day, and denied any wrongdoing.

Legal pressure however has been mounting over the last nine months, with the filing of five lawsuits by women alleging sexual assault and three other sexual misconduct suits.

In March, federal agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami Beach, stopping him at a Miami-area airport and confiscating his electronic devices.

The authorities made no announcements at the time, but a federal official said the inquiry was at least in part a human trafficking investigation.

Federal prosecutors in New York had by that time interviewed a number of witnesses about sexual misconduct allegations against Combs, according to a person familiar with the interviews.