British businessman Colin Armstrong was reportedly snatched in the early hours of this morning (Picture: tupgillpark.co.uk)
A British businessman has been kidnapped from his home in Ecuador along with a woman believed to be his wife, Ecuadorian authorities have said.
Colin Armstrong and a Colombian woman, named locally as Katherine Paola Santos, were reportedly snatched from his home in Baba in the central eastern province of Los Rios early on Saturday.
Mr Armstrong is also head of the British Consulate in the city of Guayaquil, just south of Los Rios.
A spokesperson for Ecuadorian police said: ‘Following an apparent criminal act against a businessman in the early hours of [Saturday] morning in Los Rios, specialist police units are carrying out operative and investigative work on the ground.’
The unknown assailants are believed to have transported Mr Armstrong from the premises of his ranch estate, known as the Rancho Rodeo Grande, in his own black BMW.
The vehicle has since been found abandoned on a road between Baba and the neighbouring town of Salitre.
In addition to his business interests, Mr Armstrong is the UK’s honorary consul in the Ecuadorean port city of Guayaquil (Picture: AFP)
Mr Armstrong is the founder of Agripac, a large firm that produces, distributes and sells agricultural and industrial supplies.
The owner of the Tupgill Park Estate in Yorkshire, he also received an OBE and CMG in 2011 for services to the British Monarchy.
The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office has confirmed it is in contact with Ecuadorean authorities following the disappearance of a British national.
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It has not yet confirmed the identity of the victim, nor the location of the reported crime.
Against the backdrop of a rising tide in narcotrafficking, Ecuador has becoming increasingly plagued by kidnapping for ransom in recent years.
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