Thai police reported that the suspects, linked to a gang-related crime, had been held in Laos since June after fleeing there following the killing in Bang Bua Thong district of Nonthaburi. They were apprehended on Friday in the northeastern province of Nong Khai, near the Lao capital Vientiane, apparently after being handed over to Thai authorities.
Despite the absence of a formal extradition treaty between Thailand and Laos, investigators from the Nong Khai immigration office discovered that the two men had illegally entered Nong Khai. The officers located them on Chalermphrakiart Road in Muang district and took them into custody.
The immigration investigators then informed the police at Bang Bua Thong station, who traveled to Nong Khai to collect the suspects.
The two men are now being held at the Bang Bua Thong station, awaiting a court appearance where police will request their continued detention.
The suspects, Takuya Kato, 50, and Hiroto Suzuki, 28, are accused of murdering and dismembering fellow gangster Ryosuke Kabashima, 47. Thai authorities had placed them on the wanted list before discovering they had fled to Laos.
Decaying body parts of Kabashima were found in black plastic bags on Ban Kluai-Sai Noi Road in the Pimolrat area of Bang Bua Thong on April 19.
According to sources familiar with the investigation, police believe the two Japanese suspects and the victim were members of a large yakuza syndicate known as Yamaguchi-gumi.
The Yamaguchi-gumi gang had previously gained attention when a former leader was arrested in Lop Buri at the age of 72 in 2018 and later extradited to Japan.
Kato, Suzuki, and a Thai driver were wanted on arrest warrants issued by the Nonthaburi Provincial Court for charges including premeditated murder and concealing, removing, or destroying a corpse to cover up a death or cause of death.
The driver, Kritsakorn “Games” Jaipithak, 30, was arrested earlier.
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Immigration police interrogate Japanese murder suspects Takuya Kato (left) and Hiroto Suzuki after they were arrested in Nong Khai on Friday. They were later transferred to Nonthaburi. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)
