One of the sons of the president of Equatorial Guinea has been arrested on suspicion of illegally selling a plane belonging to the national airline.

State media said Ruslan Obiang Nsue is alleged to have sold the 74-seater turboprop to a company based in the Canary Islands.

An inquiry was launched last year when it was discovered that the plane had gone missing while undergoing routine maintenance in Spain.

The suspect used to run the national airline in Equatorial Guinea, a country firmly in the hands of the family of President Obiang Nguema who has been in power for 43 years.