logical deduction – Does “The investigator traveled the identical week because the thief.” in a logic-grid clue imply that two totally different persons are referred to?

I’ve at all times needed to know if a sure factor was expressly allowed or disallowed in logic puzzles. This is a selected instance:

The investigator traveled the identical week because the thief.

Does this imply that the investigator and thief should be totally different individuals? The assertion might be true both manner, however am unclear if I can depend on the 2 being totally different or if that is simply an try and be difficult. (Empirically, I normally discover I can not make nice progress with out making the idea they should be totally different individuals, however it feels sloppy to take action.)