Human remains found in storage container from New Zealand auction

A family has been left shocked and traumatised after having found human remains in a trailer-sized storage container they bought at an auction in New Zealand on Thursday.

The family that hails from Manurewa, Auckland, discovered body parts in suitcases found inside the storage container. They had bought the container from a local firm that manages commercial and private storage units.

The police were informed of the grisly discovery last week, when the family started looking through the items in the container. Several people living in the neighbourhood also reported a "wicked smell" emanating from the property before police arrived at the scene.

An investigation into the matter is under way. The property has been cordoned off, and a forensic tent has been set up around the premises as a probe into the matter continues. The remains have also been sent for post-mortem examinations.

Meanwhile, the police have refused to make any comment on whether the remains could be from multiple victims.

A police spokesperson told the New Zealand Herald: "The priority for police is to confirm the identification of the deceased so that we can establish the full circumstances behind the discovery."

"However, we are still awaiting the completion and results of the post-mortem examination, so we are unable to comment."

Meanwhile, the family has left property temporarily due to all the media attention the case is getting. "They've gone away [the family who discovered the remains]. I wasn't here. With all the media coming around here. I'm immediate family, but I wasn't here at the time," a family member who is looking after the house for them told the publication.

According to Hannah Grant, who manages a local storage firm, a bidder is not allowed to pick through the contents and they have to take away everything they win at the auction. They do not get to sift through the items closely at such auctions, and many bids are made in the hope that something valuable may come with the purchased items.

"The sale is on the agreement the buyer takes everything. The facility's main goal is to get back a storage space to rent it. You can't pick what you want and don't want," she told Stuff.