Irishman who died in Ecuador after arrest in cocaine smuggling plot was coerced
'He was completely innocent,' a source close to the family told the Irish Sunday Mirror.
The source was speaking days after the man, from the Midlands, died in Ecuador shortly after he and his son were arrested in an airport following the seizure of some €600,000 of alleged cocaine.
Ecuador cops say the two men – who maintained their innocence – were arrested on August 3 when cops seized cocaine and firearms in luggage destined for a flight to Madrid. Drugs allegedly seized from the Irish father and son (Image: X/Policia Nacional del Ecuador)
A source said the dead man's family are adamant neither he nor his son had anything to do with the illegal drugs trade.
And they said the pair's ordeal started when they went on a short trip to Spain – and somehow ended up in Ecuador.
'They are innocent and were lured via threats and intimidation,' a source said. 'We believe they were targeted and threatened into going to Ecuador.'
Sources also told us Gardaí are aware of the case of the father and son being arrested over the drugs bust at the airport in Guayaquil, a port city in the west of Ecuador. Handguns and ammunition seized from the Irishmen. (Image: X/Policia Nacional del Ecuador)
But they also stressed that Gardaí had no evidence or intelligence to suggest that either man were in any way involved.
It is understood the son, been left devastated by his father's death, is terrified as he is locked up in prison by himself.
A source told us: 'They were in the same cell; the father complained of feeling unwell and was taken to hospital. Then they just came into the cell and told the son his dad was dead.'
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