Human remains found in suitcase were of two children, police say

The into human remains found in a suitcase in Auckland’s Manurewa are of two primary school aged children, police say.

Watch detective inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua speak to media here:

It is understood a family had brought home a trailer-load of items, won at an auction for abandoned goods in a storage unit, without realising what was inside.

Police have said the family were not involved.

Detective inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Vaaelua said the human remains were likely to have been in storage for several years.

The post-mortem investigation faced some difficulties in the ability to identify the children, he said.

The children were likely to have been between the age of five and 10 years old, he said.

The news would be hugely devastating to the nearby communities, Vaaelua said

There were relatives of the victims who remained in New Zealand, he said.

Police were working with international criminal police agency Interpol in their homicide investigation, he said.