Abdullah Bokram was arrested in the city of Guakil on suspicion of conspiring with his son and Shai Dahan, an Israeli citizen who traded in medical equipment without a license.

• Former President Abdullah Bokram // Photo: Reuters

Former Ecuadorian President Abdullah Bokram was arrested yesterday on suspicion of corruption in which Shai Dahan, an Israeli citizen, was murdered in a prison in the western city of Guakil.

Bokram was arrested after his son, Jacobo, illegally purchased medical equipment from an Israeli citizen, who was later arrested on suspicion of smuggling defective medical equipment into the country.

In the recordings that are in the hands of the State Attorney's Office in the country, a conversation is heard between the former president and the Israeli citizen, during which the latter asks him to assure him that nothing bad will be answered. The state prosecution suspects that Bukram took part in a conspiracy to murder the prisoner.

At a press conference that preceded the arrest, Bokram claimed that the intention of the conversation was to cheer up the spirit of the imprisoned Israeli because it could not trust his lawyers. Bukram further claimed that the medical equipment deal was a normal deal with no criminal aspect.

The prison where the murder, which apparently took place with a sharp tool, took place, is a secure prison intended for the protection of witnesses. Dahan's trial was due to take place in the coming days, and he was suspected of transferring illicit substances to the state.

According to local sources, the two were arrested in June in Ecuador. They were arrested for trading in corona test kits that were allegedly improper. The two are suspected of impersonating local health organization employees, and they were caught with hundreds of thousands of dollars in their possession.