Two Japanese men wanted in connection with the death and dismemberment of a compatriot in April were detained in Nonthaburi on Saturday, a day after their arrest in Nong Khai.
One of the two suspects confessed to the grisly crime after a lengthy interrogation but his compatriot continued to deny any involvement, investigators said late Saturday.
The killing arose from a dispute over an advance of 8 million baht that the victim refused to return after failing to carry out an unspecified transaction, one of the suspects said.
Thai police said the suspects in the gang-linked crime had been detained since June in Laos, where they had fled after the killing in Bang Bua Thong district of Nonthaburi in April.
They were arrested on Friday in the northeastern province of Nong Khai, across from the Lao capital Vientiane, apparently after being transferred to Thai authorities.
Thailand and Laos do not have a formal extradition treaty, but investigators from the Nong Khai immigration office reportedly learned that the wanted pair had entered Nong Khai illegally. The officers found them on Chalermphrakiart Road in Muang district and arrested them.
The immigration investigators subsequently alerted police at the Bang Bua Thong station, who then travelled to Nong Khai to pick up the suspects.
The two were being held overnight at the Bang Bua Thong station pending a court appearance on Sunday, when police would request their further detention, said Pol Col Prut Chamroonsart, the station chief.
Takuya Kato, 50, and Hiroto Suzuki, 28, are accused of murdering and dismembering fellow gangster Ryosuke Kabashima, 47. Thai authorities put the two on the wanted list before learning they had fled to Laos.
Decaying parts of Kabashima’s body were found in black plastic bags off Ban Kluai-Sai Noi Road in tambon Pimolrat in Bang Bua Thong on April 19.
After more than six hours of interrogation on Saturday, Kato confessed to having murdered his fellow gangster, said Pol Col Prut.
But Suzuki denied all charges, claiming he just accompanied Kato in the car to dispose of the body parts, and did not have any prior knowledge about the killing.
A police investigation found that Kato had given 8 million baht to the victim to cary out a transaction, but the latter was unable to do so. Kato then asked for the return of his money, but the victim refused and sent a photo of a gun to the suspect, apparently to threaten him. Kato then killed his fellow gangster, according to the investigation.
According to a timeline compiled by police, the two suspects entered Thailand at the beginning of this year. They rented a warehouse in Bang Bua Thong to store old auto parts from Japan. The body of the victim was dismembered at the warehouse, investigators said.
Kato, Suzuki and a Thai driver were wanted on arrest warrants issued by the Nonthaburi Provincial Court on charges of premeditated murder, concealing, removing or destroying a corpse or body parts to cover up a death or cause of death.
The driver, Kritsakorn “Games” Jaipithak, 30, was arrested earlier.
According to sources familiar with the investigation, police believe the two Japanese suspects and the victim were members of a large yakuza syndicate called Yamaguchi-gumi.
The Yamaguchi-gumi gang earlier made headlines when a former leader was arrested in Lop Buri at the age of 72 in 2018. He was later extradited to Japan.
Rescue workers collect a bag containing dismembered body parts, beside a track in Bang Bua Thong district of Nonthaburi province in April 2024. (Photo supplied)
Pol Col Prut Chamroonsart, chief of the Bang Bua Thong police station in Nonthaburi, speaks to reporters on Saturday after interrogating the two Japanese suspects. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)