British man 'dragged out of police station and lynched'

A British man has died in Ecuador after he was dragged out of a police station and lynched by a mob, local media reported.

- MAROOSHA MUZAFFAR

The man, whose identity wasn’t disclosed, was in custody at a police station in the riverside village of Playas del Cuyabeno, a tourist entry point to the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, when a mob reportedly broke in, dragged him out to the street, killed him, and set his body on fire.

He was said to have been suspected of involvement in a fatal shooting.

The lynching took place right outside the police station at around 12.30pm on Monday, according to local news outlet Extra, which described it as a “shocking act of apparent community justice”.

A police report identified the victim only as an “English national”.

Police confirmed the man had been arrested early on Monday morning. He had been “intercepted and beaten by local residents” who accused him of fatally shooting a local person.