Northampton Police close in on the man suspected of murdering Chinese family

OFFICERS investigating the murder of the Ding family in Northampton in April 2011, have revealed they believe the prime suspect Anxiang Du, 53 is in Morocco and have now travelled to Spain in order to further the investigation.

A major breakthrough in the investigation has revealed the fugitive who is suspected of murdering Jifeng ‘Jeff’ Ding, his wife Ge ‘Helen’ Chui and their two daughters Xing, 18 and Alice 12 in their home on Friday 29 April 2011 travelled out to Morocco shortly after committing the murders.

Officers this Wednesday (4 July) travelled out to Madrid, Spain to brief the Spanish authorities this morning (Thursday 5 July), the media and the public there on the investigation and to progress the hunt for prime suspect Anxiang Du.

Detective Chief Inspector Tom Davies, leading the investigation, said: “We know that at an early stage in the investigation – in the first few days before he was declared the prime suspect, Anxiang Du had the opportunity to leave the country.

“We now strongly believe Anxiang Du left the UK soon after the murders and travelled from Victoria bus station, London on a coach to Paris, Gallieni. After this he travelled through France into Spain – most likely through the use of public transport. His final journey was to Algeciras in Spain where he caught a ferry from there into Tangier, Morocco. alt

“We believe that having made his way to Morocco, Mr Du is still there and may still be in the Tangier area. We have been working with the Serious and Organised Crime Agency, Interpol and Crown Prosecution Service International to ensure we have the support of international law enforcement agencies who are currently focused on locating Anxiang Du in Morocco.

“We are also closely working with the Moroccan police who have the required extradition papers should Mr Du be located and arrested in Morocco. This will ensure a swift process of bringing Mr Du back to England to face appropriate charges.

“We do not know yet why he chose this route but it appears he had this as a specific destination, using public transport and certainly avoiding major airports.

“We are currently working with a number of agencies including Spanish Authorities to ensure that Mr Du does not use any other routes to travel into Spain, where we know he has previously travelled to on holiday. We are also urging those who are using or will be using the ferries from Algeciras, Spain to Tangier, Morocco to be aware of our manhunt.

“This visit to Madrid will allow us to spread the message wide and clear that we believe Mr Du used a specific route, will most likely be in Morocco and we are on the trail to find him. We want the communities in those countries to be on alert and call the police if they have any information.”

Officers are continuing to work with Chinese Embassies in London, Spain and Morocco to identify Chinese communities in these countries and ensure that they are aware of the manhunt and are able to assist in the investigation if they have any information.

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An increased reward of up to £25,000 was announced by Northamptonshire Police during the one year anniversary public appeal. Investigators are keen to reinforce this huge sum for any information leading to the successful arrest and conviction of the suspect.

On Sunday 25th March, three officers travelled to China with the aim of speaking with associates of the suspect for any information they may have in identifying people who could have assisted him in his escape.

The trip to China also afforded the force the opportunity to meet the family of the victims, update them on the investigation and pass on the force’s deepest sympathies for their loss, in person.

DCI Tom Davies, said: “While in China we met the wider family including the grandparents who explained the significance of the national Remembrance Day on the fourth of April called Tomb Sweeping Day. This is where family visited the shrines of the deceased to pay their respects. This was a very sensitive time for the family, which we understood and respected and this further reinforced our determination to locate our suspect.

Recent developments in the case saw the arrest of four people on Wednesday 18 and Thursday 19 April, on suspicion of conspiracy to assist an offender. They were all released on bail pending further enquiries.

Officers are continuing to work with the National Missing Persons Bureau to ensure where unidentified bodies are recovered, it is not that of the prime suspect. This supports the belief that Mr Du is alive.

To date there have been over 2000 people visited and interviewed regarding sightings, information, intelligence, questioning, etc. There has been over 5,000 hours of CCTV seized from around the UK. Over 380 suspect sightings, as well as nine arrests for various offences some of whom were arrested in the belief that they were the suspect.

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