‘Kidnapped’ millionaire British diplomat, 78, is pictured enjoying the high life with his glamorous Colombian girlfriend prior to being ‘abducted in Ecuador’

A millionaire businessman and British honorary consul who was kidnapped by gangsters in Ecuador this weekend has been enjoying the good life with his glamorous Colombian girlfriend in recent weeks, according to images on TikTok.

They show wealthy businessman Colin Armstrong, 78, and partner Katherine Paola Santos enjoying a jet-set lifestyle before their alleged kidnapping on Saturday.

A local news organization posted a montage of images after the couple was kidnapped in Ecuador.

The couple appears together on a safari vacation, aboard a cruise ship and under the Hollywood sign in Los Angeles.

There are also images of the smiling couple on horseback and posing in front of the Egyptian pyramids.

Fears grew for the wealthy businessman after he was kidnapped by 15 masked men, reportedly disguised as police officers, before being driven away in their black BMW, which was later found abandoned by the roadside.

Local police confirmed today that Mr Armstrong had been kidnapped, amid a sharp increase in drug-related violence in parts of Ecuador.

Chilling footage posted online shows kidnappers left a blood-stained trail after ransacking Mr Armstrong's remote farm in Los Rios province.

No ransom demands have been reported and Mr. Armstrong's fate remains unknown.

Mr Armstrong headed the British consulate in the Ecuadorian port city of Guayaquil and was honored by the late Queen for his services to his country.

A video reportedly taken at the property known as Rancho Rodeo Grande shows the aftermath of the attack.

The kidnapping is said to have taken place early Saturday morning.

A bomb threat reportedly related to the kidnapping was later reported in the area.

A message from the police on X, the former Twitter, states that officers carried out 'operational and investigative work' in connection with the case.

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

Mr Armstrong owns the 500-acre Tupgill Park Estate in North Yorkshire, which was his childhood home.

The estate now welcomes more than 150,000 visitors a year to an attraction known as the Forgotten Corner, which was originally built as a private folly.

Mr Armstrong – who is believed to have previously been married to an Ecuadorian woman – has had a long relationship with the South American country where he owns Agripac, a major agricultural supply company he founded in 1972.

He works there with son Nick, who took over the role of honorary consul in the city of Guayaquil from his father in 2016 and is also director of the company that operates the Ripon Racecourse in North Yorkshire.

It is believed that Mr Armstrong also has two daughters, including one who works as a luxury real estate agent in California.

His adopted son Leo Morris helps run a restaurant on the family's Yorkshire estate.

Mr Armstrong was awarded an OBE and a CMG by the late Queen in 2011.

Images purporting to show the aftermath of the kidnapping surfaced online shortly afterwards.

A woman filming inside the ranch took close-up photos of broken dishes on the floor and a man holding his head.

She then walked into one of the bedrooms where there was blood on the sheets and floor.

As she focused on the stained sheets, she allegedly said, “This is where they hit him.” My God, what is this!'

The honorary consul's car, a black BMW in which the kidnap victims were said to have driven away, was reportedly found abandoned on the road between Baba and the nearby town of Saliter.

The kidnapping is said to have taken place at around 2.45am local time on Saturday morning at Mr Armstrong's ranch, Rancho Rodeo Grande.

In recent years, Ecuador – located between world-leading cocaine producers Colombia and Peru – has become a hub for foreign and domestic drug cartels blamed for a series of massacres, kidnappings and extortions.

Gangs now control prisons and street violence has increased. Since 2018, the national murder rate has more than quadrupled, from six to 26 per 100,000 residents.

As a major port city, Guayaquil has become a center for the cartels that export drugs to the United States and Europe.

President Daniel Noboa, a native of Guayaquil who took office in late November, has vowed to crack down on drug traffickers.

His election followed a campaign season marred by violence in which eight politicians, including a mayor, were killed.