Binjiang Police Affairs

According to the customs in Binjiang, when a family has a baby boy, they send red eggs to friends and relatives.

Now with family planning being implemented, having a boy or a girl is treated the same.

If you had a girl and didn't send out red eggs, people would straightforwardly think that you were unhappy for not having a boy, so not only do you need to send out red eggs, but you should also arrange the Baptism Wine ceremony.

Han Yu had spent some time accompanying his senior colleague who had moved from the delivery room to the ward, before driving back home with his father-in-law to fetch the prepared red eggs. He hurried to the bureau to distribute them, then to the Port Supervision Bureau and the Water Police Station, before rushing non-stop to the City Bureau.

At the City Bureau, Captain Wei of the Criminal Investigation Team was the only elder present.

Captain Wei was delighted to learn that Han Yu had been blessed with a daughter, and while accepting the red eggs, he exclaimed, "It would have been great if your master could have seen this day. Have you called the Master's wife to share the good news?"

"I did, the Master's wife is very happy and asked me when I'd arrange the Baptism Wine ceremony."

"Is she coming back?"

"It's too far, and I don't want her to keep traveling back and forth, so I lied to her and said we're not having the Baptism Wine."

"It is a long way indeed, just the train ride takes a day and a night, and then you need to change trains in Jiangcheng. Everything going smoothly, it takes two days and a night to get home."

Captain Wei nodded and then asked, "Did you call Director Yu and Director Zhang?"

Han Yu quickly smiled and replied, "I did, both Director Yu and Director Zhang are very happy."

"They're not too far away, will they come back for the Baptism Wine ceremony in a few days?"

"Director Zhang is going to Hanwu to report on work, but his spouse will come back. Director Yu's hometown is not far from here, but it's inconvenient to travel from Huaiyin, so I didn't tell him about the Baptism Wine; turns out he is planning to visit his elders back home in a few days."

"Coming back for New Year's Day?" Captain Wei asked with a smile.

Han Yu unconsciously glanced behind him, saw that the office door was closed, and chuckled, "Captain Wei, Director Yu is going to be promoted. He might be concerned that after taking his new post, he might be too busy to visit home, so he wanted to make a trip home before his new role begins."

"Going back to the Provincial Department?"

"Not exactly."

Full of curiosity, Captain Wei asked, "Then where to?"

This matter could only be shared with trusted elders, not to be spoken about with outsiders until everything was settled.

Han Yu couldn't help looking back again, excitedly said, "The province plans to divide Huaiyin into two, carving out a few counties to establish a new prefecture-level city. The Provincial Department intends to transfer Director Yu there to be the top leader of the new prefecture-level city's Police Bureau!"

"Suqian City?"

"Captain Wei, you know about it."

"I've heard people mention it before, but I didn't expect it to be true."

Thinking that becoming the head of a prefecture-level city's Police Bureau would soon lead to a promotion to Vice Director, Captain Wei couldn't help but smile, "Director Yu's promotion is both unexpected and reasonable. He is a graduate of a prestigious university, can write well, has grassroots experience, had served as a Deputy Division Commander at the Provincial Department for several years, is young, and has been the Standard Department Level Vice Director in Huaiyin for many years, familiar with the situation. If not promoting him, then who?"

Director Yu's promotion genuinely pleased Han Yu, but he couldn't help saying, "Director Yu isn't really young; he's fifty this year."

"At his level, he's quite young. Even in a county-level police bureau, a fifty-year-old serving as the head is relatively young."

Captain Wei lit a cigarette and joked again, "Of course, you can't compare with you, you became a Deputy Division Commander at the age of twenty-three; he hadn't even graduated from university at that age. I'm even less comparable; I was just an investigator when I was twenty-three."

"Captain Wei, I'm in the industrial police, similar to corporate internal security. My position as Deputy Division Commander is in name only, with only two policemen under me. If you compare laterally, it's roughly equivalent to the position of a squad leader in local police security, not even as good as a police station chief."

"Even in industrial police, being promoted to Deputy Director isn't easy."

"But it's not that difficult either. You're well acquainted with Liu Guixiang; he's only five years older than me. At twenty-eight this year, he's been promoted to Deputy Division Commander as well, and that of the Criminal Investigation Team!"

The Criminal Investigation Department in Changhang Bureau had very few people, including the head, there were only three investigators before.

Now with the new establishment of the team, they had to consider that a Criminal Investigation Team leader should be knowledgeable in criminal investigation, and so Liu Guixiang, that fortunate young man, became the Deputy Division Commander.

Add to that the even younger man before him truly reflected the trend of younger leadership.

Many policemen in the City Bureau were not only envious but also jealous, and when they mentioned Changhang Bureau, they called it "fake police" or corporate internal security.

Captain Wei knew well how the late Xu Sanye had planned Han Yu's career and said meaningfully, "At present, there might be a little in name but not in reality, but if you have the opportunity to be transferred back in the future, you will be a deputy division commander in truth."

"I am the Deputy Division Commander of the Water Fire Rescue Team. The Fire Brigade of the city bureau is part of the active police service, and I am not a military man. Let alone considering a transfer back, even if I were to think about it, there's nowhere for me to go."

"There's always a way to arrange a transfer if you really want it."

"Captain Wei, you really know how to joke. People like me, could I be the Deputy Division Commander of the Police Team or Criminal Investigation Team?"

Local police is different from industrial police; there are more people and fewer positions, and seniority matters.

For a young officer like Han Yu, if he indeed were to be transferred back, he definitely couldn't act as Deputy Division Commander. At most, he would be the Big Commander and could only serve as the Big Commander of the Water Police Department at most, and he shouldn't even think about the other teams.

Captain Wei Zhizheng didn't know how to proceed, when Han Yu suddenly remembered something, "Captain Wei, I have a lead on a human smuggling operation. Are you interested?"

"Of course we're interested."

"Does your team have jurisdiction?"

"Onshore we have jurisdiction, but to build a solid case, it's best to catch them in the act. If the smuggled individuals board a plane or a ship and leave territorial waters, we need to work with the Border Inspection and Border Defense on a joint investigation."

"Do you have the funds?"

"Salted Fish, are you doubting our team's capabilities?"

"No, it's just that the lead I have is quite special."

Han Yu dared not beat around the bush any longer with the head honcho of the Binjiang Police Criminal Investigation System and quickly gave a clear and concise introduction to the situation at hand.

Captain Wei, stunned, asked with a bitter smile, "The only contact we have is in Japan?"

"Yes."

"The only real lead is a bank account number?"

"Pretty much."

"We don't know where their associates within the country are, we don't know how they're organizing the smuggling, we don't even know if we have jurisdiction or not; this is impossible to investigate."

"So, Captain Wei, you're saying you're not interested?"

"It's mainly because the risk is too high. You know how tight the City Bureau's budget is. That's a hundred thousand yuan. Even if I submit an application, the leaders of the Bureau wouldn't approve it."

"We could start by checking the bank accounts."

"Salted Fish, it's not as simple as you think. To inquire into bank transfer records requires certain procedures. We currently don't have any leads; with the information we have now, we can't even begin to build a case. Would our superiors give us permission to inquire?"

Captain Wei tapped the ash from his cigarette and continued, "We don't even know which bank the account is with. If it's a bank from another region, it's even more troublesome, given the travel costs involved. And from what you've told me just now, the Snake Head hiding abroad is very crafty. I bet he isn't worried about us investigating through the bank at all."

Han Yu subconsciously asked, "Not worried?"

"Just try and make an international long-distance call in a few days to see if he gives you a different account number than the one he gave your bureau's Criminal Investigation Team before."

"He has multiple accounts?"

"I've seen plenty of economic criminals, especially those involving overseas operations. For them, bank accounts are just a tool for receiving money. You make a payment on their instructions, call them, and immediately, he contacts his associates within the country to withdraw the money from a networked bank, all within no more than two hours. After the money is withdrawn, that account won't be used again, and it's very likely not even in his own name."

Afraid that the young man didn't believe him, Captain Wei added, "Major banks are networked nationwide, and to integrate with international systems and for the convenience of depositors, ATMs are being installed everywhere. While it's convenient, it's not good news for us. It's hard to trace the flow of stolen funds."

Han Yu nodded, "We could surveil ten or fifteen banks, but it's not possible to monitor all the banks in the country."

"That's why the risk is too high. Who would dare risk a hundred thousand yuan?"

"It seems our only option is to report it."

"Go ahead and report it, but I doubt it will do any good."

"Why won't it be any good?"

"Even if it's reported up level by level to the Ministry of Police, the Ministry of Police isn't the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Could it possibly cooperate with the Japanese police?"

Captain Wei countered with a question and continued to analyze, "The guy is hiding in Japan and has been organizing a continuous flow of people to smuggle into Japan. He must be scared of being targeted by Japanese police. The phone number you have is most likely not registered under his real name; so it's not easy for the Japanese police to catch him either."

Only those who have traveled abroad know how many people have been smuggling into developed countries in recent years, and only they know the dangers of smuggling.

Some have been lost at sea, while others have died suffocating hidden inside shipping containers.

If nothing happens, it's lucky, but when something does go wrong, many lives are lost, as demonstrated by the heartrending news reports on smuggling from Western countries.

Even if they're lucky enough to safely reach their destination, being caught presents a severe international issue.

Han Yu understood very well that those who smuggle aren't betraying their country; they're just pursuing the "Gold Rush Dream" of earning money abroad, and the majority of the money earned ends up being sent back home. In a way, it's also a form of foreign exchange earning.

However, there are many channels for working abroad, there's no need to take such a risk.

What's even more frightening is that some black sheep get involved with gangs abroad, controlling those who have been smuggled over, and forcing these dreamers to slavishly work for them.

If you don't know about it, there's no way to help. Once you do know, you can't ignore it.

Driving back to Bailong Port to deliver the red eggs after leaving the City Bureau, Han Yu secretly made up his mind. Even if the hundred thousand yuan went down the drain, even if it meant creating a dowry for his brethren in the provincial and municipal forces, he had to get to the bottom of things by following the trail!

As for where the hundred thousand yuan would come from, he could find a few more partners to cooperate, sharing the cost and the risk.

If they really could verify the facts, there would surely be fines and confiscations, making it a kind of venture investment. At least, Director Zhou from the local police had the courage for such an undertaking.

Thinking this, Han Yu immediately took out his mobile phone and dialed Director Zhou's number.