Former Ecuadorian President Abdalá Bucaram is under arrest in connection with a corruption investigation linked to the coronavirus pandemic.
Police arrested Bucaram on Wednesday after locating an unlicensed gun during a raid on his home in Guayaquil, the coastal city where some of the first coronavirus cases were confirmed in Latin America.
Police said they also found thousands of coronavirus test kits and face masks as part of their criminal probe.
Authorities said the raid was part of their investigation into suspected embezzlement at a large public hospital.
The police carried out more than two dozen raids in Guayaquil and the city of Quito, but there were no immediate reports of additional arrests.
