A BRITISH millionaire was living the high life with his younger lover before he was allegedly kidnapped by 15 men in disguises.
Colin Armstrong, 78, was reportedly snatched in Ecuador after criminals dressed as police ransacked his estate.
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Prior to his disappearance, the millionaire and his lover Katherine Paola Santos had been showing off their lavish lifestyle.
Colin – who is head of the British Consulate in the city of Guayaquil – is believed to be being held hostage after being taken alongside Katherine.
However, she is said to now be being quizzed by cops after being rescued.
Katherine was regularly seen taking cute snaps of the pair as they lived out their wildest imaginations.
The couple have been seen travelling across the globe in recent months with trips to safari holidays and pricey cruise ships all on the agenda.
The unconventional yet happy pair have also been getting away from their South America lives and ticking off many of the world’s most visited spots.
Getaways to Los Angeles to pose beneath the Hollywood sign and smiley snaps of the pair on the back of horses in front of the famous Egyptian pyramids.
The lavish lifestyle and heaps of money all come from Colin’s booming business back in North Yorkshire.
He’s the owner of Tupgill Park Estate which he built around his childhood home.
The glorious complex features an iconic labyrinth of tunnels, chambers and follies known as Forbidden Corner, which claims to be “the strangest place in the world”.
The hugely popular estate now welcomes more than 150,000 visitors a year.
Colin has rubbed shoulders with many of the UK’s elite and was even honoured by the late Queen for his services Britain with an OBE and CMG in 2011.
Since moving to Ecuador, the millionaire has kept up with his British projects but also founded a large firm in Ecuador called Agripac that produces, distributes and sells agricultural and industrial supplies.
He started up this company in 1972 and now works alongside his son Nick to keep it up and running.
Colin is seen as a friendly, family man and keeps his kids close to him within his businesses.
His adopted son Leo Morris helps run a restaurant at the family’s Yorkshire estate and one of his two daughters are thought to work as an upmarket estate agent in California.
‘KIDNAPPING’ PROBE
Police are investigating the kidnapping of Colin and Katherine after they were allegedly snatched from Rancho Rodeo Grande a few days ago.
The couple were taken away in the early hours of Saturday at his ranch in Baba, Los Rios province.
The attackers are believed to have driven the pair away in the wealthy businessman’s black BMW, reportedly found abandoned nearby.
One unconfirmed local report said the raiders were wearing police uniforms as disguises.
A video said to be circulating on social media shows the aftermath of the raid with signs of a forced entry, along with traces of blood and ransacked rooms.
A woman filming inside takes close-up shots of broken plates on the floor and a man who appeared to be holding a bandage to his head.
She then walks into one of the bedrooms where blood covers the bed before saying: “This is where they hit him. My God what is this!!!”
The Foreign Office said they were in contact with authorities in the South American nation following the disappearance of a British man.
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They did not confirm his identity or the location of the potential crime.
A spokesman for Ecuadorian police said: “Following an apparent criminal act against a businessman in the early hours of this morning in Los Rios, specialist police units are carrying out operative and investigative work on the ground.”
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