The police commander, General Willian Villarroel, confirmed the deactivation and controlled detonation of the explosives, which had been attached to the body of a guard at Sauces 9, north of Guayaquil.
Moments in which GIR police officers evacuate the security guard, in Guayaquil, on March 30, 2023.
Around 08:00 this March 30, the Police received a report of a threat of explosive devices in Sauces 9, in the north of Guayaquil.
According to the alert entered by the surveillance cameras, a person had several sticks of dynamite tied to his chest and legs.
The police commander in Guayaquil, General Willian Villarroel, confirmed that it was an explosive charge, and that it was first deactivated from the person’s body.
Then a controlled detonation was carried out outside the municipal market, near the place where the event occurred.
“We gave the Intervention and Rescue Group (GIR) space to activate its protocols and process with the deactivation,” said Villarroel, this Thursday.
He pointed out that the Police are still working on technical analysis to find out the type of explosives used and the size of the charge.
After more than three hours of intervention, GIR agents managed to successfully remove the explosive devices. The citizen was escorted to an ambulance and is in good condition.
According to Villarroel, both the person used in this violent act and his family are under police protection.
So far in 2023, the Commander assured that there have been 40 events with explosives in Guayaquil. But what happened this Thursday is the first that involves artifacts attached to a citizen.
Investigations in Guayaquil
Commander Villarroel explained that the person with the explosives is the security guard of a local gold sale in Guayaquil.
He had been kidnapped on Wednesday night by several subjects, according to surveillance cameras.
“We are in the analysis of the motivation of the event, and we have contacted the administrators of the premises,” said the Commander.
At the moment, the police cordon remains outside the market and a security alert is activated in Guayaquil.
“Intelligence teams have been activated and we are searching for the people who caused the incident,” added Villarroel.
