A Delaware father stuffed heroin inside his 8-month-old son's diaper right before he was arrested on shoplifting charges, police said Wednesday.

New Castle police were about to arrest 25-year-old Michael N. Penn on an outstanding shoplifting warrant when he was spotted shoving an "unknown item" into a baby's diaper, The News Journal reported.

The "unknown item" turned out to be 16 baggies of heroin Penn stashed in his son's pants- all in front of his 5-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son.

Not only was Penn charged with shoplifting, but he is now facing three counts of endangering the welfare of a child, heroin possession, possession of a controlled substance, possession of drug paraphernalia, and resisting arrest.

Family Services was notified about the incident and the children are now with their grandmother, police told the newspaper.

Police began searching for Penn after receiving a shoplifting complaint on Sunday from a Verizon store in New Castle, according to The News Journal. Surveillance footage from the store recorded in June shows a man identified as Penn stealing a Samsung tablet and another item.

Penn was out walking with his three kids on Tuesday when officers approached him. When asked to put down his daughter and infant son, both of whom he was holding, Penn "began to cover his right hand and shove an unknown item into his youngest child's front pants area," police said according to the newspaper.

After Penn and his children were in custody police saw the unknown items sticking out from the baby's pants. Officers found the heroin, weighing a total of .24 grams, as well as a Xanax pill that Penn did not have a prescription for, police said.

Penn said "he was sorry" and that he hid the drugs on his son because "he was scared," The News Journal reported.

Penn was released on $4,500 bail pending his next court date.