Chinese family murder suspect in Morocco, police say
A man accused of murdering a Chinese family in Northampton last year ago is believed to be in Morocco, police have said.
Anxiang Du, 53, is believed to have travelled by public transport to Morocco shortly after the alleged murders of Jifeng “Jeff” Ding, his wife Ge “Helen” Ding and their 18- and 12-years-old daughters Xing and Alice.
Officers are working closely with Moroccan police, who have extradition papers, in order to locate and arrest Du. They have also travelled to Madrid to brief Spanish authorities on the matter.
Du, who has been previously named as a “business associate” of Deng, is alleged to have stabbed the family of four on 1 May last year.
The route to Morocco
Police say they “strongly believe” Du then travelled to Victoria coach station in London and boarded a bus to Paris.
His is then believed to have used public transport to travel through France and Spain, ending up in the southern coastal city of Algeciras, where he boarded a ferry to Tangiers, Morocco.
Detective chief inspector Tom Davies, who is 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 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 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.”
Police efforts
On the one year anniversary of the alleged murders police raised the reward for information leading to the successful arrest and conviction of Du to £25,000.
Recent developments in the case have also resulted in four people being arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to assist an offender. All four have been released on bail pending further enquiries.
To date, police have interviewed more than 2,000 people regarding sightings and information, and more than 5,000 hours of CCTV footage have been seized.