The Vice-resident of Maldives, Ahmed Adheeb Abdul Ghafoor, was arrested by Maldives police on Saturday and have charged him with "high treason" .
The arrest comes amidst mounting speculation that he was involved with the incident of a blast on a speedboat carrying the country's President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom last month.
Ghafoor had on Friday said that he would be returning to the Maldives on Saturday amids rumours that he had fled the island nation. The Singapore Airlines flight carrying the vice president landed at the Ibrahim Nasir International Airport (INIA) at 11.45a.m. on Saturday.
Police officers were seen accompanying the vice president as he exited the plane. Home minister Umar Naseer took to twitter to announce that the vice president had been arrested and taken to the police detention centre in Dhoonidhoo. "Charges: High Treason," his second tweet read.
Ghafoor's suporters had tried to gather at the official jetty in the Maldivian capital of Male to welcome him, but police cordoned off the entire area, which is considered a part of the Green Zone, haveeru.com reported.
It added that some high-profile supporters of the vice president, including former Jumhoory Party (JP) youth wing president Moosa Anwar and former coordinator at the youth ministry Ali 'Steps Ayya Shahid, were taken into custody for defying orders.
Police confirmed separately that the vice president was arrested for the investigation into the blast, said haveeru.com. "Vice President Ahmed Adheeb has been arrested under a warrant for the investigation into the blast on the presidential speedboat," the police's tweet in the local Dhivehi language read.
Government spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali also confirmed the arrest of the vice president.
"[The President's Office] has been informed [by the police] of the arrest of the vice president for an on-going investigation," his tweet, also in Dhivehi, read.
