A Dutch entrepreneur has been killed in a drive-by shooting in Colombia at the weekend, the foreign affairs ministry has confirmed to the AD.

Robert Lukkassen (45) was shot outside the premises of his brewery in the village of Piedras de Moler in the Valle del Cauca region in western Colombia in the early evening of Saturday.

Witnesses said Lukkassen had been shot at several times by two men on a motor cycle. Despite attempts to save his life Lukassen died on the spot.

Local papers describe Lukkassen, known locally as ‘El Holandès’ as a hard worker who set up his brewery to provide jobs for people who needed them most.

Lukassen ‘invested all his money in Colombia. He loved this country and never thought he would meet his death here,’ one of his friends said on social media.

One scenario police are investigating is that Lukkassen’s may have refused to pay extortion money to the local mafia.

No arrests have been made as yet.