A British millionaire and former diplomat has been rescued after he was kidnapped in Ecuador.
Colin Armstrong, 78, was snatched from his villa alongside his girlfriend Katherine Paola Santos by 15 armed men on Saturday morning and was last seen being bundled into the back of a car.
A report has claimed that Mr Armstrong was targeted by a cartel after refusing to pay protection money.
During his ordeal, footage of Miss Santos emerged apparently showing bomb disposal police removing a vest ‘filled with explosives’ that her kidnappers allegedly forced her to wear. She reportedly said the vest would explode if a ransom wasn’t paid.
But officers suspect she was part of the scam and police were quizzing Miss Santos over her kidnapping and how she came to be released.
On Wednesday, Cesar Augusto Zapata Correa, Ecuador’s police chief, tweeted that Mr Armstrong had been found on a road near Manabi not far from Los Rios where he was snatched.
Police released a picture which showed him wearing a baseball cap, slightly out of focus, as per local law, flanked by two police officers. He appeared fit and well.
On Wednesday Cesar Augusto Zapata Correa, Ecuador’s police chief, tweeted that Mr Armstrong (pictured) had been found on near Manabi not far from Los Rios where he was snatched
Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos are pictured together in Jamaica
Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos are pictured together
Video footage has since emerged on social media apparently showing his glamourous girlfriend having an explosives vest removed by a bomb disposal expert
Mr Correa wrote: ‘Our units released citizen Colin A., kidnapped a few days ago in Los Rios. At the moment he is safe and healthy.’
It has since been claimed that a feared criminal gang allied to a violent Mexican cartel which forces new recruits to eat raw human hearts has been linked to Mr Armstrong’s kidnapping.
The brutal Los Tiguerones, whose members identify themselves with tattoos of beret-wearing tigers had been identified as the chief suspects overnight before police announced Mr Armstrong had been freed.
Officials were said to have been focusing on the group for allegedly snatching the 78-year-old president of agricultural distribution firm Agripac after he refused to pay them a monthly protection fee.
A well-placed source quoted in the Daily Telegraph said: ‘It’s the most likely reason for the kidnapping at this point.’
Police have confirmed nine suspects have so far been arrested, although they have not officially said whether they belong to Los Tiguerones.
The shadowy gang was a small support unit of Los Choneros, one of the South American country’s oldest organised crime groups, when they first began to be talked about in 2019.
Four years on, the organisation, which in its infancy had just 900 members, has expanded from its birthplace in the northern port city of Ecuador to become a leading player on the national scene as well as in neighbouring Peru.
Meanwhile, in a statement to family friend Leo Morris said: ‘We can confirm that Mr Colin Armstrong has successfully been released and is currently with the police having interviews and then will be returning to his Family in Ecuador.
‘All of the UK family, staff and friends are delighted with the outcome and look forward to a happier Christmas.
‘We have no further news at present.’
Mr Armstrong’s son Nick Armstrong, who helps run the family estate in North Yorkshire, had flown to Ecuador to help in the hunt.
The father and son are directors of the 500-acre Tupgill Park Estate near Leyburn in north Yorkshire, which has been the family home for more than 45 years.
Mr Armstrong’s daughter Diana Armstrong-Bruns, an estate agent based in California, had told earlier this week following his kidnapping: ‘This is a critical time, we’ve been told not to say anything to anyone. We just want my father back.’
The wealthy businessman was snatched from his ranch called Rancho Rodeo Grande by up to 15 masked men reportedly disguised as police officers before being driven away in their black BMW which was later found abandoned by the roadside.
His glamourous girlfriend was also abducted alongside Mr Armstrong on Saturday. But 24 hours later, she was reportedly seen at the home of his son Nick, in a taxi wearing a bomb vest.
Police were alerted and video footage has since emerged apparently showing Ms Santos having the explosives vest removed by a bomb disposal expert at a property on the private gated estate in Samborondon near Guayaquil.
Ms Santos was yesterday being quizzed by detectives about her kidnapping, apparent release and whether she was forced to wear the bomb vest by Mr Armstrong’s kidnappers so as to demand a ransom from his family.
The couple appear together on a safari holiday in this picture before their reported abduction
Mr Armstrong’s daughter Diana Armstrong-Bruns (pictured), an estate agent based in California, had told earlier this week following his kidnapping: ‘This is a critical time, we’ve been told not to say anything to anyone. We just want my father back’
His son Nick Armstrong (right), who helps run the family estate in North Yorkshire, had flown to Ecuador to help in the hunt
Meanwhile, chilling footage posted online showed how the abductors left a blood-stained trail behind after ransacking Mr Armstrong’s remote ranch in the province of Los Rios.
Mr Armstrong headed the British Consulate in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil and has been honoured by the late Queen for his services to his country.
Video reportedly taken inside the property known as Rancho Rodeo Grande shows the aftermath of the attack.
A woman filming inside the ranch took close-up shots of broken plates on the floor and a man holding his head.
She then walked into one of the bedrooms where there was blood on the bedsheets and the floor.
As she focused in on the stained sheets, she is reported to have said: ‘This is where they hit him. My God what is this!’
The honorary consul’s car, a black BMW the kidnap victims are said to have been driven away in, was reportedly found abandoned on the road between the town of Baba and the nearby town of Salitre.
Local police initially managed to activate satellite tracking of the BMW, which showed it being driven south towards the city of Ecuador, but they lost track of it.
Local reports say British intelligence was involved in the hunt for Colin.
The Foreign Office previously said: ‘We are in contact with the Ecuadorean authorities following the disappearance of a British man and are supporting his family.’
Mr Armstrong owns the 500-acre Tupgill Park Estate in North Yorkshire, which was his childhood home.
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.
Mr Armstrong – who is thought to have previously been married to an Ecuadorian woman – has had a long association with the South America country where he owns Agripac, a large agricultural supply company which he founded in 1972.
Pictures on TikTok show wealthy businessman Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos enjoying a jet-set lifestyle prior to their kidnapping on Saturday
Mr Armstrong headed the British Consulate in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil and has been honoured by the late Queen for his services to his country
He works there alongside son Nick, who took over the honorary consul role in the city of Guayaquil from his father in 2016 and is also a director of the company which runs Ripon Racecourse in North Yorkshire.
His adopted son Leo Morris helps run a restaurant at the family’s Yorkshire estate.
In recent years Ecuador – situated between world-leading cocaine producers Colombia and Peru – has become a centre for foreign and domestic drug cartels blamed for a series of massacres, kidnappings and extortions.
Gangs now control prisons, and violence in the streets has surged. Since 2018, the national murder rate has more than quadrupled, soaring from six to 26 per 100,000 inhabitants.
As a large port city, Guayaquil has become a centre for the cartels exporting drugs to the United States and Europe.
President Daniel Noboa, a Guayaquil native who took office in late November, has promised to crack down on drug traffickers.
His election followed a campaign season marred by violence in which eight politicians, including a mayor, were killed.