A feared Ecuadorian drug lord often filmed living the high life on his ranch in Colombia has been found dead with a gunshot wound to the head.

The police believe that his own bodyguard killed him so that he could steal cash from him.

The dead body of Junior Roldan was found in El Mango village in Fredonia, Antioquia Department, on 6th May.

Roldan, widely known as J.R., had fled to Colombia from his native Ecuador following a failed assassination attempt on 15th April.

After arriving in Colombia, he had hired the services of a criminal network in Medellin.

A National Police investigator told local media: “It is an organised criminal group that Roldan paid to provide him with security.

“They rented a luxurious estate for him and assigned him a bodyguard for his protection and care.”

The bodyguard was allegedly responsible for bringing women, food, and alcohol to the ranch, where Roldan would throw wild parties.

These videos obtained by CEN show him having fun with alcohol, horses, music, and women.

On 6th May, the bodyguard allegedly brought the drug lord two Colombian women, two Ecuadorian women, and two Venezuelan women in an apparent bid to distract him.

The police believe that he then killed Roldan so that he could steal cash from him.

The police source told local media: “We are considering the hypothesis that the bodyguard killed him during an opportunistic robbery.

“J.R. travelled to Colombia in a high-end car in which he hid millions of dollars in cash, and the man responsible for his security found out and killed him.”

Roldan was the leader of the criminal gang Los Aguilas, which has connections to the powerful Ecuadorian drug cartel and terrorist organisation Los Choneros.

He was appointed the gang’s co-leader in 2020 after its previous leader, Jorge Luis Zambrano, was assassinated.

Roldan had a long criminal record that included charges of murder, organised crime, and smuggling prohibited items into prison.

The authorities believe he was responsible for at least 20 violent deaths.

He was serving two murder sentences at the notorious Litoral Penitentiary, where two massacres took place in 2021.

The authorities believe that Roldan was directly involved in the massacres.

During his time behind bars, the drug lord’s lawyers were constantly trying to get him released.

They claimed that he suffered from high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, grade three hepatic steatosis, and liver cirrhosis.

Following a motion filed in December last year, Roldan was released in February with an electronic ankle tag.

Bizarrely, officials described him as an exemplary inmate as part of their decision to release him.

The decision to free Roldan was criticised at the time by Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso.

Just days after his release, a video showing the drug lord celebrating his newfound freedom at an alcohol-fuelled party cast doubt on his lawyers’ illness claims.

On 16th March, Roldan was injured in an assassination attempt. The authorities then lost track of him after he removed his ankle tag.

His alleged killer’s identity has not been reported.