The ceremonial sword that belonged to and which was returned to Nai Yin Xue, the man now wanted by Police for the murder of his wife, Anan Liu, was found by detectives in a sealed Police exhibit bag in her car.
The car was left at the Auckland International Airport on Thursday, September 13, the day her now fugitive husband collected the sword packaged in the sealed bag from the Henderson Police Station and travelled to Australia with their daughter, Qian Xun Xue.
The car, a white Honda Fit, was located at the airport car park by general duties Police officers late on Monday, September 17 - less than 24 hours after Victorian Police advised Interpol of the identity of the man who had abandoned his three year-old at a Melbourne railway station.
"The car and its contents had been secured by general duties Police acting on requests from the Victorian Police on Monday night," Detective Inspector David Pearson of the Operation Patch homicide investigation team said.
"That car and its contents - including that which was in the still-sealed Police exhibit bag - were examined by detectives who have been working on Operation Patch since the CIB became involved in the search for Anan Liu late on Monday, September 17.
"The absolutely spurious inference all week has been that Police virtually handed Ms Liu's killer the means to kill, despite this team saying from the time the post-mortem examination of her was completed that we were not looking for any weapons."
ENDS
Issued by Noreen Hegarty
Auckland City Police Communications Manager
Ph 09 302 6947 or 0274-951-589
Website: www.police.govt.nz