Body parts found in Bangkok river are of Spanish national

The Thai police on Thursday said multiple body parts found floating in Bangkok’s main river belong to a Spanish businessman who was likely kidnapped and extorted before he was murdered.

The gruesome case has dominated Thai media coverage in recent days with television networks airing grim footage of officers hauling human appendages out of the city’s Chao Praya river.

The first body part was discovered on Sunday with six additional finds since then at different locations along the river.

General Panya Maman, the officer leading the murder investigation, said on Thursday that the victim was a Spanish businessman who entered Thailand on January 19.

“I am convinced that within next 48 hours this case will be resolved and that all perpetrators are foreign gangsters — although we suspect that some Thai nationals may have had knowledge (of the crime),” he said.

A Spanish embassy official said they had yet to receive confirmation of the victim’s identity.

Gen. Panya said the murder likely took place between January 25 and 27.

Detectives are working on the theory that he was kidnapped and coerced before he was killed.