Ecuador violence: Police free 49 people held by Los Lobos gang

Police seize dynamite, weapons and ammunitions during a raid of tunnels in a mining area.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUK General ElectionUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersEcuador police free 49 people held by gang22 hours agoBy Vanessa Buschschlüter, BBC NewsShareEcuadorean policeTwo suspects were detained by policePolice in Ecuador say they have freed 49 people who had been kidnapped by a criminal gang in the southern of the country.

Two of the suspected kidnappers were arrested during the joint raid by the Ecuadorean security forces in a mining area in Azuay province.

The powerful Los Lobos (The Wolves) gang was behind the kidnapping, police said.

Ecuador has seen a surge in gang violence in recent years as transnational criminal organisations have expanded in to the Andean country to take advantage of its large ports to export drugs.

Video released by police shows heavily armed officers entering what appears to be the tunnel of a mine.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy9487g0y8yo

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