The mystery behind missing Muslim lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit took a dramatic turn yesterday when authorities found bones near an oil drum that was suspected of being used to burn his remains after he was abducted and taken to Ratchaburi.

After villagers claimed last week to have seen men dumping an oil drum into the Mae Klong River in Ban Pong district two years ago, Department of Special Investigation officers and two divers searched the three-metre-deep river in the afternoon.

They concentrated on three spots where the cellphone calls of suspects in the lawyer's disappearance were reported.

At about 5pm a 200-litre oil drum with some bones lying nearby was found on the riverbed.

Pornthip Rojanasunan, acting director of the Central Institute of Forensic Science, who was at the scene with an underwater archaeology expert to advise on techniques to dive for material evidence, said she suspected the bones were not from a human, but a water buffalo or cow. But she would DNA test them for confirmation.

Officials also collected grease and blood found on the drum's top for DNA testing.

They planned another dive today to retrieve the rest of the drum.

Pornthip said she could return with the underwater archaeology expert and divers to perform a more extensive search next Tuesday.

Suchart Wonganantchai, director of the DSI's Special Criminal Litigation Office, said the search could help to shed light on the case and urged anyone with information to contact the DSI.

Suchart said the DSI's probe centred on linking the mobile phone records of those allegedly involved in the disappearance, starting from the lawyer's own phone record from the morning of March 12, 2004 until his phone was turned off.

The phones of the suspects remained activated until 4am of March 13, when they apparently went in a group from Bangkok to Ratchaburi.

The phone records showed a contact with a person in Ratchaburi who reportedly had in possession many oil drums and, after the incident, had lost all the drums, Suchart said. If witnesses contacted by DSI agreed to cooperate and give useful testimony, arrest warrants for murder could be issued.

He said it was highly likely that Somchai was killed and his body incinerated in an oil drum in Ratchaburi.

After learning about the new development from a newspaper, Somchai's wife Angkana and her lawyer also observed the search.

She said she believes the area was where Somchai was taken to, according to the phone records, but this lead had not been followed during the investigation's first phase.

"They should have done it earlier, but this search makes me feel better that they're working on it, not just letting it fade into silence," she said, adding that she still had faith that some evidence could be found.

Piyanuch Tamnukasetchai

The Nation