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

Colin Armstrong, who is also the UK’s 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.

Image:
Colin Armstrong. Pic: Tupgill Park Estate

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

Ecuadorian interior minister Monica Palencia thanked police in a post on X.

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

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