Arrests in Ecuador kidnapping

8:00 AM

QUITO - Ecuadorean authorities have detained seven men accused of collaborating with an unidentified armed group still holding 7 of 10 foreign oil workers kidnapped in October.

The hostages include 52-year-old New Zealand helicopter pilot Dennis Corrin.

According to a report on Ecuavisa television network, the rural residents bought food for the kidnappers after they were threatened, making it possible for the criminals to sustain their hostages in captivity for the past 4 months.

"They put a gun to my head and they said if I didn't do as they told they'd kill me," Sucumbios province resident Wilson Quinonez said in the television report aired late on Monday.

"They gave me $US200 ($NZ469) and I bought a consignment, this lasted 8 days and when it was finished they sent me to buy," said suspect Jorge Cruz.

According to police, media reports of the detention during the last week have slowed negotiations with the kidnappers after Ecuador's military chief Miguel Saona said last week the hostages would soon be released.

An unidentified armed group kidnapped 10 foreign oil workers from Ecuador's Amazon jungle region in October. Two Frenchmen escaped a few days later, while one American hostage, Ron Sander, was shot and killed by the kidnappers 3 weeks ago after his employer failed to pay a ransom.

Seven men - Mr Corrin, 4 US citizens, a Chilean and an Argentine - are still in the hands of the kidnappers, somewhere in the jungle province of Sucumbios.

Saona said on television last week that the kidnappers had reached an agreement to free the hostages after their employers agreed to pay an unknown amount as ransom. According to local media reports, the ransom would be between $US13 million and $US15 million.

The army detained the 7 suspects last week but the case has since been passed to the police for investigation.

"These 7 people are detained and being investigated by police," said Fernando Roca, penal court judge in Sucumbios. If they are not found guilty of a crime, they will be released, Roca said.

- REUTERS

Herald Online feature: Kidnapped in Ecuador