Two men have been arrested in relation to the murder of Chinese student Wan Biao, whose body was found in a suitcase floating in the Waitemata Harbour.
The arrests came tonight just hours after police revealed 19-year-old Mr Biao was murdered in an Auckland hotel room after being lured there
as part of a kidnap plot.
Both men will appear in the Auckland District Court tomorrow.
One, a student, is charged with murder and the other man, who is unemployed, with being an accessory after the fact. Both are aged 21.
Earlier police revealed a ransom demand was made to Mr Wan's family in China just hours before his body was found in the suitcase on Friday.
The kidnappers asked for 4 million yuan - almost $800,000 - in the overnight phone call last Thursday. Police said the demand was "incomplete" and there was no deadline for payment.
"A simple kidnapping motive is not consistent with some of the preparations and actions of the conspirators," said Detective Inspector Bernie Hollewand.
Mr Wan arrived in New Zealand last August and had been studying at the Oxford International Academy.
Mr Hollewand would not reveal the name of the inner-city hotel where Mr Wan was held but forensic scientists spent today in a room that was identified as the murder scene.
Mr Wan had suffered multiple injuries before his body was folded into a suitcase. Police have recovered weapons and "tools".
A security camera captured the moment when the suitcase with Mr Wan's body inside was tossed from the end of Princes Wharf in downtown Auckland.
Mr Hollewand said police had been "greatly assisted" by the numerous security cameras covering the city.
- HERALD STAFF
