Homebush mystery body identified as Thai national as police probe possible organised crime links
Updated
Police are investigating possible links to drugs and organised crime after identifying the body of a man discovered two weeks ago hidden on the side of a busy road near Sydney Olympic Park.
Wachiro 'Mario' Phetmang, 33, was discovered wrapped in material with his body covered by a mattress protector on Homebush Bay Drive next to Bicentennial Park in Sydney's south.
The gruesome discovery was made by a truck driver who pulled over into the emergency lane on the night of June 6.
Police said the 33-year-old, who was most recently living in Hurstville in Sydney's south-west, worked at a Thai restaurant and Starbucks in the city and had lived in the country for 10 years.
Police revealed today they were investigating possible links to drugs and organised crime, including if multiple people were involved with the 33-year-old found "bound and gagged" in bushland.
Mr Phetmang was gay and police believe he had a boyfriend, however, the man was not considered a person of interest.
A post-mortem examination revealed Mr Phetmang was seriously assaulted, with the cause of his death labelled as "blunt-force trauma".
Detectives released CCTV footage of Mr Phetmang arriving at a service station at South Hurstville at 7:30pm on Friday May 25, his last known sighting.
"Strike Force Sinder investigators are continuing to piece together Mario's final movements and would like to speak to anyone who may have seen him that Friday night," Homicide Squad Commander Detective Superintendent Scott Cook said.
"Mario travelled to and from the service station in a silver 2004 Hyundai Terracan, with Victorian registration URK109, which we have not yet located.
"At this stage, we do not know where Mario went after leaving the service station, and we are appealing for information about his movements from then until his body was located almost two weeks later.
"We are particularly appealing to motorists who have dash cameras to review their footage to see if they may have filmed the vehicle during that time.
"This includes a re-appeal to motorists who travelled in the Sydney Olympic Park area during that time to double check their vision for anything that may assist with our inquiries."
Topics: crime, law-crime-and-justice, homebush-2140, nsw, sydney-2000
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