Former State Minister of Finance Ministry Mohamed Ashmalee has been arrested in Sri Lanka during a sting operation related to a child sex trafficking case in the country.
This was confirmed by local news site 'Mihaaru' who quoted a Sri Lankan police official on the case.
The Sri Lankan media official confirmed to 'Mihaaru' news 45-year-old Ashamalee was arrested in relation to the child sex trafficking case where a 15-year-old girl was sex trafficked using websites and social media.
The official also said that Ashmalee, who headed local telecom giant Dhiraagu and the National Center for Information Technology, was arrested for allegedly paying for the underage girl.
Sri Lankan authorities had arrested a total of 45 individuals in relation to the case and Ashmalee was arrested today along with three others.
They also said that the child's mother is alleged to have been most involved in the case and that the woman is now under police custody.
Local authorities here in the Maldives are yet to confirm Ashmalee's arrest.
