DUBLIN,Ireland Aug 13-An Irish man arrested earlier this month alongside his son in Ecuador on suspicion of drug trafficking has died in prison.
The man, believed to be in his early 60s, was detained at Guayaquil Airport on August 2nd. Ecuadorian police alleged he and his son were attempting to board a flight to Madrid carrying 15 blocks of cocaine concealed in two suitcases, along with ammunition and two handguns.
Police estimated the drugs had a street value of about €600,000 in Europe — the equivalent of 140,000 individual doses. Digital weighing scales, a banknote counter and electronic devices were also seized.
Images posted by Ecuadorian authorities after the arrest, with the men’s faces obscured, showed the alleged contraband spread out on a table. The suspects were only described publicly as “foreigners.”
The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs confirmed it was aware of the case and is providing consular assistance. The man’s son remains in custody.
While it is believed the man died of natural causes, the circumstances have not been officially confirmed.
Ecuador has seen a sharp rise in gang and drug-related violence in recent years, with its prisons struggling to cope with swelling inmate numbers. Amnesty International reported last year that around 600 inmates had died in the country’s jails since 2019.
