GUAYAQUIL, Ecuador (Reuters) - Ecuador's police on Monday said it will investigate the deaths of two people whose bodies were hung from a foot bridge in the small costal city of Duran, a crime officers say could be linked to a recent drugs seizure.

       Violence and crime, including within the prison system, have exploded in Ecuador since the end of last year, with the government blaming drug-trafficking gangs which use the country to export narcotics to the United States and Europe.

       Duran, in Guayas province, is considered one of the country's most violent cities.

       "For us it is extremely worrying that these increasingly aggressive criminal incidents continue to take place," Marcelo Cortez, deputy police commander of the Guayaquil area, told reporters.

       Families of the victims - who local media reported were found with their hands and feet tied, with their heads wrapped in adhesive tape - reported them missing on Friday, Cortez said.

       One working theory held by the police is that the deaths could be linked to an operation which took place on Sunday in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, during which seven tonnes of drugs destined for Belgium were seized.

       President Guillermo Lasso is fighting the crime wave with legal reforms and increased presence of police and soldiers on the streets, but so far the measures have not succeeded.

       (Reporting by Yury Garcia in Guayaquil; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Alistair Bell)