ADDIS ABABA, Nov. 13 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopia on Tuesday arrested the ex-chief of the Metal and Engineering Corporation (MeTEC) Kinfe Dagnew on corruption charges, state media outlet Ethiopia Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) reported.

Dagnew had resigned from the military-linked business conglomerate MeTEC in April, amid allegations of widespread corrupt practices.

The arrest of Dagnew comes a day after the Ethiopia Attorney General Berhanu Tsegaye said the east African country is launching a massive probe into corrupt practices at MeTEC.

EBC reported Dagnew was arrested near the northwestern Ethiopian town of Humera, close to the border of Sudan and Eritrea.

On Monday in a press conference held in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, Tsegaye said MeTEC which is building several mega infrastructure projects, is suspected of being responsible for massive corrupt practices between 2011 and 2017.

"MeTEC officials and civilians close to them were involved in the illicit purchases of plane, ships, cranes and other equipment and pocketed a portion of the purchased money." said Tsegaye.