Male: Maldivian Vice President Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor was arrested on Saturday after he was charged with "high treason" amid mounting speculation over his involvement in a blast on a speedboat carrying the president last month.
He was arrested as soon as a flight carrying him from Singapore landed at the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA), Haveeru online reported.
Home minister Umar Naseer, meanwhile, announced on Twitter that the vice president had been arrested and taken to the police detention centre in Dhoonidhoo.
"Charges: High Treason," he tweeted.
Police confirmed separately that the vice president was arrested for investigation into the blast.
"Vice President Ahmed Adheeb has been arrested under a warrant for the investigation into the blast on the presidential speedboat," police said.
President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and First Lady Fathimath Ibrahim were travelling to Male from the airport on September 28 when the explosion took place. They had returned home that morning after concluding their visit to Saudi Arabia to perform the annual Haj pilgrimage.
The president was unhurt, but the first lady suffered a spinal fracture while presidential secretary Fathimath Mohamed Solih and bodyguard Abdu Nasir received minor injuries including burns. The first lady still remains in hospital.