Police investigating the murder of Timaru 20-year-old Lisa Blakie say inquiries in South Canterbury are progressing well.
The focus of the six-month-old homicide investigation switched to the Timaru area last week, with police searching a property in Pleasant Pt and another in Temuka.
Detective Senior Sergeant Peter Read said the team was making steady progress interviewing a large number of people. Inquiries in South Canterbury would continue until Friday "at the earliest."
He said the inquiry was focused on a specific group of people, some of them with gang links.
Lisa Blakie disappeared on February 2 after thumbing a ride from Yaldhurst, outside Christchurch, on her way to visit friends on the West Coast.
Her body was found in the Porter River, near a layby on State Highway 73, four days later. Police believe she was murdered late on February 5. She had been a sex worker and was known to have gang connections in Timaru and Christchurch.
Police raided the Devil's Henchmen gang headquarters in Christchurch last month, removing several items for forensic examination.
In March, they occupied a Darfield house for a week after seizing a car owned by one of the occupants, who admits giving the murdered woman a lift.
Detective Senior Sergeant Read said yesterday that tests on the car by engineering experts to check its speed and fuel consumption were complete and he was awaiting a preliminary report.
- NZPA
Blakie murder team makes good progress
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