According to reports from the police, Colin Armstrong, a British businessman and former UK honorary consul in Guayaquil, was abducted by masked individuals at his residence in Ecuador’s Los Rios province.
According to a police report obtained by the Guardian, Armstrong, who is 78 years old, was abducted on Saturday morning along with his partner Katherine Paola Santos, a Colombian woman. The incident occurred at his residence in the town of Baba. The report stated that he was taken away in his personal black BMW, which was later discovered abandoned.
The number of kidnappings for ransom has risen in Ecuador due to a rise in violent crime, caused mainly by drug trafficking gangs. This has caused the country to go from being one of the safest in Latin America to the most dangerous in a span of five years, according to a 2022 Gallup poll.
In a short amount of time, Ecuador has transformed from a peaceful country in comparison to its neighboring cocaine-producing nations, Colombia and Peru, to a hub for foreign cartels and local drug organizations. These groups have gained control of the country’s prisons, resulting in fatal consequences, and expanded their criminal activities to include kidnapping and extorting others.
The Ecuadorian police tweeted on X: “Specialized police units are currently conducting operations and investigations on the ground following a suspected criminal incident against a businessman in Los Rios early this morning.”
Armstrong, the creator and proprietor of Agripac, a sizable corporation that produces agricultural goods in Ecuador, stepped down from his position as honorary consul in 2016 and was succeeded by his son Nicolas. In addition, he possesses the 500 acre (202 hectare) Tupgill Park Estate in North Yorkshire, where he grew up. He was honored with an OBE and CMG in 2011.
A clip shared on a social media platform allegedly depicts the residence where Armstrong was abducted, revealing bed sheets stained with blood and rooms in disarray.
A representative from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office stated that they are communicating with the Ecuadorian government regarding the absence of a British individual and providing assistance to their family.
Daniel Noboa, the current president who assumed office in November, has made a commitment to tackle drug cartels and organized criminal groups. As the son of a prominent banana business owner and a native of Guayaquil, he has vowed to gain control of the port city that serves as a major exporter of cocaine to the United States, Europe, and Asia.
The election was preceded by a tumultuous campaign in which eight politicians, including presidential candidate and anti-corruption advocate Fernando Villavicencio, were killed.
Source: theguardian.com
