Colin Armstrong: Kidnapped British businessman rescued by police in Ecuador

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Smiling and sporting a baseball cap from his saviours, a British businessman kidnapped by armed guerillas has been pictured with police after his dramatic rescue.

Colin Armstrong and his wife were seized from his ranch in Ecuador’s Los Rios province on Saturday

The 78-year-old, who was awarded an OBE, and his Colombian partner were held for four days before the authorities managed to free them on Wednesday.

General César Zapata, commander general of the Ecuador police, said nine people had been apprehended in the operation and that Mr Armstrong was safe. Interior Minister Monica Palencia said on Twitter that investigations into the crime were ongoing.

Armstrong was taken from his home in the town of Baba in los Rios province, Ecuavisa and other local media outlets reported.

Kidnapping for ransom has become increasingly common in Ecuador amid rising crime largely attributed to drug trafficking gangs.

Mr Armstrong is the founder of Agripac, a company supplying agricultural products in Ecuador in 1972. He also owns the vast Tupgill Park estate in Coverdale in the Yorkshire Dales, home to the Forbidden Corner folly garden and tourist attraction.

A spokesperson for Forbidden Corner: “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 his UK family, staff and friends are delighted with the outcome and look forward to a happier Christmas. We have no further news at present.”

Britain’s ambassador in Ecuador, Chris Campbell, thanked the police for the rescue.

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