Colin Armstrong: Police in Ecuador rescue British businessman after ranch kidnap

A British businessman who was kidnapped from his home in Ecuador has been rescued by police.

Colin Armstrong, who is also the UK’s former Honorary Consul in Guayaquil, was reportedly taken from a ranch he owns in the province of Los Rios, along with his partner, early on Saturday morning.

Local media reports said criminals disguised as police officers forcibly entered the 78-year-old’s property and snatched him and his partner, who is a Colombian national.

But today Cesar Augusto Zapata Correa, the general commander of the National Police of Ecuador, posted on X to say that Mr Armstrong had been found on the road to Manabi, not far from where he was kidnapped.

The police chief said Mr Armstrong is “safe and healthy” and that nine people have been arrested.

The post on X included a picture of Mr Armstrong, showing him standing between two police officers with his arms folded, wearing dark tracksuit bottoms, a dark blue sweater, and a police baseball cap.

Ecuadorian interior minister Monica Palencia also posted on X to thank police, writing: “We will not allow impunity. Police actions continue.”

Mr Armstrong is the founder of Agripac, an agricultural products supply company in Ecuador, founded in 1972.

He is also the owner of the 500-acre Tupgill Park Estate, which has more than 50 people on its payroll to help maintain it for the approximately 150,000 visitors it gets each year.

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The businessman was awarded an OBE and CMG by the Queen for services to the British monarchy in 2011.

A video previously posted on social media claiming to show the aftermath of the kidnapping at his home shows a broken doorframe and dried blood on a bed in the property.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has previously confirmed it is in contact with Ecuadorian authorities following the disappearance of a British man but did not confirm his identity.

Following Mr Armstrong’s rescue, the UK’s ambassador to Ecuador Chris Campbell thanked police for “all their efforts to achieve Colin’s release”.

“We are delighted that Colin Armstrong OBE, our former honorary consul in Guayaquil, has been safely released,” he posted on X.