Two men have been arrested for suffocating a Chilean butcher in his own shop and dismembering his body to avoid paying a GBP-35 debt.

Pedro Carrion Rosas, 49, went missing from Recoleta, a commune in Chile located in the north of Santiago Province, on Monday, 3rd January 2022, and his fate had remained a mystery until now.

The police have now arrested two suspects, named as Jose Luis Yanez and Pablo Solis, with the latter allegedly confessing to kidnapping and killing the owner of the butcher’s shop.

The arrests took place on Thursday, 24th February, the same day the victim’s dismembered remains were found in the commune of Quintero in the Chilean region of Valparaiso.

Pedro reportedly went to the butcher’s shop he owned to collect a debt of CLP 37,500 (GBP 35).

The police said that he disappeared shortly afterwards. They found his car, personal belongings, identification documents and other items in the car park in front of the shop.

The police announced that they have now found Pedro’s body buried under the patio of a house in Quintero after analysing over 2 million pieces of telephone data. They established routes taken by users as well as their telephone numbers and identities.

This then enabled them to arrest the two suspects. It is currently unclear if they have been charged, but at least one of them allegedly confessed to murder.

Solis said in his statement to the police: “The idea was a quick death… Pedro began to defend himself, he made reference to the fact that his family was going to take revenge, so I decided to hit him in the face and knock him out… then I put the bag over his face until it killed him.”

The suspect then allegedly took the body, with help of the other suspect, into the butcher’s shop where it was dismembered.

Investigators believe that the crime was committed to avoid having to pay the debt.

The investigation is ongoing.