Maldives: Boat blast probe leads to discovery of weapons, 7 arrested

Maldives police arrested seven people after an investigation into a boat explosion that targeted President Abdulla Yameen led to the discovery of weapons hidden on the sea bed, officials said on Saturday.

The weapons, including two hand grenades, a rifle, a pistol, and more than 100 bullets wrapped in carrier bags were found on the sea bed, at a depth of 45 metres, in the remote Baa Atoll, 130 km northwest to capital Male, officials said.

The investigation into the 28 September boat blast had led to the discovery of the weapons, some of which could be used to make improvised explosive devices (IEDs), Ali Ihusaan, a Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) official said.

"We found devices and equipment that could be used to make IEDs --that could be set off anywhere and could be detonated remotely without knowing who set it off," Ihusaan told reporters in Male while exhibited the weapons found.

He also said only two of the weapons were owned by MNDF, but declined to comment about the others.

A police official said seven suspects were arrested after the find, which came a day after Malaysia deported a man to the Maldives who was suspected of involvement in the attempted assassination of Yameen last month.

MNDF did not explicitly link the weapons to the 28 September blast on the speedboat transporting President Yameen after his return from the Muslim hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Yameen escaped unhurt, but his wife was injured.

Maldives Vice President Ahmed Adheeb was arrested last week in connection with the explosion. Adheeb had denied the allegations. Defence Minister Moosa Ali Jaleel was sacked in mid-October.

Maldives Foreign Minister Dunya Maumoon on Tuesday denied that dissident politicians were trying to unseat Yameen and said he was in control.

56-year-old Yameen has provoked street protests in Maldives with a crackdown on political dissent, including the arrest of the country's first democratically elected president, Mohamed Nasheed, who was sentenced to 13 years in jail this year on terrorism charges that have caused an international outcry.