Police in the Maldives arrested Vice President Ahmed Adeeb yesterday in connection with an explosion aboard the President’s boat last month that authorities have said was an assassination attempt.
Mr Adeeb was arrested at the airport when he returned from an official visit to China “on suspicion of involvement in the boat blast,” police spokesman Ismail Ali told The Associated Press.
He said Mr Adeeb had been taken to a detention centre.
Soon after the September 28 blast aboard President Abdullah Yameen’s speedboat, rumours began circulating that Mr Adeeb was behind it but he has denied that he was involved. If the President dies, is incapacitated or resigns, the Vice President succeeds him, according to the Maldives’ Constitution.
Three soldiers, including a former member of Mr Adeeb’s security detail and a member of the army’s bomb squad, were also arrested yesterday in connection with the blast, Deputy Police Commissioner Abdullah Nawaz said.
The explosion took place aboard Mr Yameen’s boat as he and his wife were returning to Male, the Maldives’ capital, from the airport after a hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia. Mr Yameen escaped unhurt, but his wife, an aide and a bodyguard were injured in the blast.
Authorities initially said the explosion could have been a result of a mechanical failure. But they later said that it was an attempt to assassinate Mr Yameen and launched a criminal investigation.
Mr Adeeb had met President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca during a visit to Malta last August where he had presented her with a letter from Mr Yammen.