UPDATE:
Police suspect a drug debt was behind the deaths of missing Logan pair Cory Breton and Iluiana Triscaru, who they alleged were murdered, stuffed in a metal box and dumped in a dam on the night of January 24.
Detective Superintendent Dave Hutchinson said police divers discovered the two metre box in a dam on a vacant lot in Kingston, in the southern Logan region, just after 8am on Thursday.
While investigators were yet to open it, he said they strongly suspected the remains of the missing pair were inside.
"We are still in the process of removing that box, we haven't been able to to open the box, however we do fear the box will contain the bodies of the two missing persons," Superintendent Hutchinson said.
He said extensive forensic examination of the crime scene had to be undertaken before they could remove the box from the dam to confirm their suspicions.
Five men, aged between 21 and 31, and a 36-year-old mother-of-seven have been charged over the double murder.
All fronted Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday morning, where they were remanded in custody to reappear on March 21.
Superintendent Hutchinson said police believed Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru were killed by acquaintances in the vicinity of Mudgee Road, Kingston, on the night of January 24, before their bodies were stuffed in a tradesman's box and driven to the dam on the vacant lot.
He has appealed for anyone who saw a dark green, 1999 Toyota Hilux in the vicinity of Bega and Mudgee roads in Kingston that night to contact police.
Superintendent Hutchinson also appealed for anyone who may have picked up two fluorescent yellow ratchet straps dumped on Third Avenue in Marsden after January 25 to contact police.
He said the straps were a crucial piece of evidence in the investigation.
"We would really like to recover those fluorescent yellow ratchet straps," Superintendent Hutchinson said.
"To them it's just a couple of ratchet straps, to us it's an integral part of the investigation."
In a further appeal, Superintendent Hutchinson also asked two other men, a 32-year-old Crestmead man and a 25-year-old Kingston man, to come forward.
He stressed the pair were not suspects but believe they have information vital to the investigation.
"We would encourage them to come and see us now, circumstances have changed, people are in custody, so we would ask them to come forward and speak with us," he said.
As the matter is before the courts, Superintendent Hutchinson declined to elaborate on how Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru met their ends and why all six people were each charged with two counts of murder.
However, he said "a number of items", believed to be weapons, had been seized from cars, along with the cars themselves.
Superintendent Hutchinson said detectives had worked around the clock for the past 48 hours to bring the investigation to its current state.
"Though it would appear to be a very sad ending we are very happy to get to these circumstances," he said.
EARLIER
Police searching a dam for the bodies of Logan pair Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru have discovered a box, as six people, including a mother-of-seven, faced court charged with their murders.
The box was pulled from the dam on a vacant lot in Logan on Thursday morning, where police dogs and divers had been searching for the pair since Wednesday.
Police would not confirm reports it contained two bodies.
Investigators say they are still working to determine if the box is linked to the presumed deaths of Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru.
The discovery came as six people, including a 36-year-old mother-of-seven, faced Brisbane Magistrates Court charged with the pair's murders.
Each has been charged with two counts of murder and each was remanded in custody to reappear on March 21.
Those charged are:
Davy Malu Junior Taiao, 21;
Stou Daniels, 21;
Trent Michael Thrupp, 22;
Webbstar Latu, 31;
Thuringia Thomas Tahiata, 24; and
Ngatokoona Marieti, 36.
THURSDAY MORNING:
Six people have been charged with the murders of missing Logan pair Cory Breton and Iuliana Triscaru.
Five men aged between 21 and 31 and a 36-year-old woman were each charged with two counts of murder overnight and are scheduled to front Brisbane Magistrates Court on Thursday morning.
Mr Breton, 28, was reported missing on January 29 from the Logan area, while Ms Triscaru, 31, was reported missing on February 1 from Marsden.
Their phones, social media and bank accounts have not been touched since.
Their bodies are yet to be found but police divers have returned to a vacant block in Kingston on Thursday, where the search for the pair's remains is focused on a dam on the property.
The murder charges came after a dramatic arrest on the Gateway Motorway on Wednesday afternoon, in which police surrounded a luxury BMW with their guns drawn.
Three people were taken into custody but only two were later charged with the murders of Mr Breton and Ms Triscaru.
The remaining four were arrested at various homes in the Logan area.
A police spokesman confirmed that their friend, 23-year-old Lelan Harrington, who had earlier been reported missing but was later found, was not among the six people charged.
Crime scenes were established at two properties in the Logan area on Wednesday, Mr Harrington's apartment in Kingston and the vacant block near Kingston Raceway.
In appealing for information to find the missing trio last week, police said all were drug users and were known to associate with criminals, which had sparked concerns for their safety.
Those due to face court charged with two counts of murder on Thursday include:
A 21-year-old Kingston man
A 21-year-old Slacks Creek man
A 22-year-old man of no fixed address
A 24-year-old Logan Central man
A 31-year-old Crestmead man
A 36-year-old Crestmead woman
Courtesy brisbanetimes.com.au
