The Thai police have launched a manhunt for two Japanese suspects, Suzuki Hiroto, 33, and Kato Takuya, 50, who are believed to be involved in the murder of a fellow Japanese man, Kabashima Ryosuke, 47. The victim’s severed arms and mutilated body were found in black plastic bags in a secluded area in Nonthaburi.
Deal gone wrong
Investigators suspect that the murder was a result of a deal gone wrong between Japanese gangsters, also known as yakuza. The police are coordinating with international authorities to secure an Interpol warrant for the arrest of the two suspects.
A Thai suspect, Kritsakorn Jaiphitak, also known as Bom, has been arrested and charged with conspiracy to conceal and destroy a corpse. He admitted to driving three Japanese men to a warehouse on the outskirts of Bangkok, where a heated argument broke out in the car.
Bom heard a gunshot and found the front-seat passenger dead with a gunshot wound to the head. The other two Japanese men took the body into the warehouse and later instructed Bom to dispose of several heavy black plastic bags containing body parts in different locations.
The police are still searching for evidence and have found axes, saws, and skull fragments near the dismembered body. All body parts have been sent for forensic analysis to confirm that they belonged to the same person.
Investigation has gone international
A driver who drove the two Japanese men to Nakhon Phanom, bordering Thakhek, Khammouane Province, Laos, has been identified. He told the police that on April 22, an acquaintance contacted him and hired him for 12,000 baht to pick up two foreigners from Vibhavadi Road 19 in Bangkok and deliver them to Nakhon Phanom Province.
The driver picked up the two Japanese men from a warehouse on the outskirts of Bangkok, where the murder is believed to have taken place. He did not know the men’s identities and was not aware of the murder.
The police are now investigating the acquaintance who hired the driver and are trying to track down the two Japanese suspects, Suzuki Hiroto, 33, and Kato Takuya, 50, who are believed to be members of the Yakuza gang.
The police are coordinating with international authorities to secure an Interpol warrant for the arrest of the two suspects. The case remains unsolved as the suspects have fled the country.
The police are coordinating with international authorities to secure an Interpol warrant for the arrest of the two Japanese suspects. The case remains unsolved as the suspects have fled the country.
The investigation is ongoing, and the police are urging anyone with information about the suspects to come forward.