Brit millionaire snatched from villa by armed Ecuadorian gang rescued by police
British millionaire Colin Armstrong, who was kidnapped from his home in Ecuador last weekend, has been rescued by police.
Mr Armstrong, former honorary consul of the United Kingdom in Guayaquil, was kidnapped in an operation involving more than 15 gangsters from his home Rancho Rodeo Grande and forcibly bundled into a black BMW he owned with his partner, which was later found abandoned near the scene. The shocking crime sparked a police investigation involving British intelligence services who were assisting in the search. Earlier today Ecuador's police chief, Cesar Augusto Zapata confirmed on X, previously known as Twitter, he had been found, alive and well.
In the update he added nine people had been arrested, although he did not go into detail. He wrote online: "On the road to Manabí, our units released citizen Collin A., kidnapped days before in LosRíos . At the moment he is safe and healthy. There are 9 arrested. News in development.”
Alongside the update was a picture of the Brit flanked by two officers. His face appeared blurred in the image for an unknown reason and he was dressed in an overlarge jumper and a baseball cap. One person responded to the update: "We are waiting for you with open arms, dear Colin."
Footage showing the aftermath of the kidnap was posted online shortly after it happened. A woman thought to be a member of staff filming inside the ranch took close-up shots of broken plates on the floor and a man who appeared to be holding a bandage to his head.
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Colin Armstrong was kidnapped from his home last weekend (GERARD COUZENS)Mr Armstrong, who is thought to have previously been married to an Ecuadorian woman, has had a long association with the South America country. He founded Agripac in 1972. As well as founding and owning a large agricultural supply company in the South American country, expat Mr Armstrong is a director along with his son of the 500-acre Tupgill Park Estate near Leyburn in North Yorkshire which has been the family home for more than 45 years.
Colin's adopted son, Leo Morris, helps run a restaurant at the family's Yorkshire estate. The estate now welcomes more than 150,000 visitors a year to an attraction known as the Forgotten Corner which was originally built as a private folly. Footage showing the aftermath of the kidnap was posted online shortly after it happened.
A woman thought to be a member of staff took close-up shots of broken plates on the floor and a man who appeared to be holding a bandage to his head. She then walked into one of the bedrooms where there was blood over the bed and said as she focused in on the stained sheets: “This is where they hit him. My God, what is this!” The woman appeared to be referring to the man she had filmed sitting on the stairs nursing what looked to be a head wound. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office confirmed: “We are in contact with -Ecuadorian authorities following the disappearance of a British man and are supporting his family.”
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