Two Japanese men with possible links to the yakuza, who are prime suspects in the murder and dismemberment of their compatriot whose remains were found in Nonthaburi province in April, were caught in Laos on Thursday.
Kato Takuya, 50, and Suzuki Hiroto, 33, were arrested in the capital Vientiane by local authorities and were being handed over to the Provincial Police Bureau 1. The suspects are expected to arrive in Thailand next week.
The two men were suspected of killing and dismembering Kabashima Ryosuke, 47, in Nonthaburi in April.
The body parts contained in black garbage bags turned up in different locations in tambon Phimolrat of Bang Bua Thong district. The first bag with skeletal remains was found on April 19. The head was retrieved in another spot four days later.
A 30-year-old Thai man, identified as Kritsakorn Jaiphitak, was arrested earlier for being hired by the three Japanese men as a chauffeur around the time of the killing.
Mr Kritsakorn told police Ryosuke sat next to him in the front passenger seat while Mr Hiroto and Mr Takuya took the back seat.
He did not understand what they had talked about, but he could sense the three had an argument while he was driving.
They told him to head to a warehouse in Bang Bua Thong in Nonthaburi.
When the car reached its destination, the two men told him to leave the vehicle, which he did, taking a smoking break. He told the police the men were arguing in the car. He later heard a gunshot.
Rushing to the scene, he saw Ryosuke's body on the ground with blood gushing from his head.
He said Mr Hiroto and Mr Takuya took the body to dismember it in the factory and then returned to the car with black plastic bags. He was ordered to dump the bags in many locations in the Bang Bua Thong area, he claimed.
Mr Kritsakorn faces a charge of colluding in concealing a body, according to Bang Bua Thong Police. A background check indicated the two suspects are yakuza, based on tattoo art on the dead man's hand.
