Arrest warrants have been issued for two Japanese men accused of killing a compatriot in Nonthaburi. Police suspect all three have links to a big yakuza syndicate.
The Nonthaburi Provincial Court on Wednesday approved the warrants for the arrest of Takuya Kato, 50, and Hiroto Suzuki, 33.
They are accused of shooting Ryosuke Kabashima, 47, in a warehouse in Bang Bua Thong district of Nonthaburi province on the night of March 27. Police say the pair then dismembered the body and had their Thai driver, who has already been arrested, take them to drop off the body parts.
Parts of the victim’s body were found at different locations in Nonthaburi last Friday and on Tuesday. They included a skull with a bullet hole in it.
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.
Their Thai driver, Kritsakorn Jaiphitak, 30, was arrested on Tuesday and insisted he had nothing to do with the murder. He told police that the Japanese men had ordered him to drive a car so that they could drop off bags of body parts.
Police at the Bang Bua Thong station are handling the case. They have charged the Japanese suspects with premeditated murder, concealing a body and illegally possessing firearms and ammunition.
The statute of limitations for the case is 20 years.
The Yamaguchi-gumi gang earlier made headlines when a former gang leader was arrested in Lop Buri at the age of 72 in 2018. He was later extradited to Japan.
Police have released the photos and names of two Japanese and one Thai suspect in the murder and dismemberment of Ryosuke Kabashima. (Police photo)