Police have arrested four suspects in connection with the early morning robbery at Velana International Airport (VIA), where masked men stole a large sum of money from Bank of Maldives (BML) employees.

According to the Maldives Police Service, officers have also recovered the speedboat used by the robbers to flee the scene. The suspects were taken into custody during a special operation launched shortly after the incident was reported at 4:45 a.m.

The robbery took place as two BML employees were transporting a cash briefcase from the old terminal to the new terminal. Reports suggest the briefcase contained over USD 100,000, intended for issuing to local passengers departing from the airport.

Police believe the crime was pre-planned and confirmed that investigations are ongoing to determine whether additional individuals were involved.

This is the second major theft in recent days, following the disappearance of 13 million cigarettes from the Maldives Ports Limited (MPL) harbor in Hulhumalé. Police have not yet indicated any link between the two incidents.