Japanese trio barbecued and curried victim: Reports

TOKYO (AFP) - Three men who barbecued and curried the remains of their victim were being held by authorities in Japan, police and reports said on Thursday.

The trio used a hammer to dismember Kazuyuki Kobayashi, before grilling parts of his body and getting rid of it in mountains in rural Japan, a police spokesman said.

Broadcaster TV Asahi said two of the men had confessed to killing Mr Kobayashi and stewing some of his flesh in a curry, in an effort to hide the smell.

Tasuku Shimaoka, 34, Keita Yoshida, 30, and Koji Kawamura, 40, were arrested last week on charges of dismembering Mr Kobayashi, who had been missing for around three years, the police spokesman said. Local reports said there was some kind of money trouble among the men.