20 December 2023 , 22:10
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The British millionaire kidnapped in Ecuador has been freed.
A gang of around 15 masked men reportedly disguised as police officers dragged Colin Armstrong, 78, from a farm he owns on Saturday morning. He was snatched from his house near the port city of Guayaquil alongside partner Katherine Paola Santos. She was quickly released.
A video has emerged of Ms Santos apparently having an explosives vest removed by a bomb disposal expert. The footage was captured at a property on a private gated estate in Samborondon near Guayaquil, said to belong to Mr Armstrong’s son, Nick.
Mr Armstrong senior was found hours after police questioned Ms Santos, thought to be around 30. Yesterday Cesar Augusto Zapata Correa, Ecuador’s police chief, posted on X that Mr Armstrong had been discovered on a road near Manabi, not far from where he was snatched. He added: “Our units released citizen Colin A kidnapped a few days ago. At the moment, he is safe and healthy.
A blurred picture showed the businessman, smiling despite his 72-hour ordeal, flanked by police officers. Police had managed to find Mr Armstrong’s black BMW, the car he was driven away in, by activating its tracker device, but it was abandoned by the roadside.
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Security officials suspect the brutal Ecuadorian gang Los Tiguerones kidnapped Mr Armstrong after he refused to pay them a monthly protection fee. Los Tiguerones is one of the country’s biggest organised crime gangs, running extortion rackets alongside drug-trafficking operations.
Colin and his glam Colombian lover (Instagram)The gang is part of the reason Ecuador has experienced a tide of violent crimes and murder throughout the year. Only in August, presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated less than two weeks before elections were due.
Cartels in neighbouring Colombia are believed to smuggle cocaine into Ecuador before it is distributed from ports such as Guayaquil. Mr Armstrong, who owns the Forbidden Corner visitor attraction in the Yorkshire Dales, is the president of Ecuadorean agriculture firm Agripac.
According to footage circulating with local media outlets, a bomb vest was strapped to the chest of his partnerLeo Morris, who manages Forbidden Corner and the businessman’s other affairs in the UK, said: “The staff, tenants, farmers and friends of Colin are absolutely delighted at the news. It couldn’t have come at a better time.”
He added that Mr Armstrong would be spending Christmas with his family in South America. Mr Morris also praised the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office for helping the family and keeping them updated.
Mr Armstrong was awarded the OBE and Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George for services to the British Monarchy in 2011.
He is a former UK honorary consul to Guayaquil, a voluntary role aiding British nationals in difficulty.