Binjiang Police Affairs

Political Commissioner Jiang was very satisfied, opening his briefcase to take out five stacks of hundred-yuan notes.

"Salted Fish, this is from Director He for you, a total of fifty thousand."

"This is like timely help during snow, thank you Political Commissioner, thank you Director He!"

"No need to thank me, this is necessary. You are handling a major case, the branch really can't spare more people to support you, there must be financial security."

Without money, nothing can be done.

Thinking that everyone had not yet had dinner and that the two political commissioners definitely wouldn't enjoy their meal without hearing the report first, Han Ning simply took the money: "Political Commissioner, let me order some food first, and I'll write the receipt for you afterward."

Political Commissioner Jiang turned with a smile, "Alright, make it good."

Seeing his sister with the money heading to the command room, Han Yu simply sat down and said: "Political Commissioner Jiang, Political Commissioner Wang, I'll quickly report, and we can eat together after. After dinner, I still need to stake out at anchorage four."

"Okay, start."

Political Commissioner Jiang knew the young man was busy and immediately took out some paper and a pen.

Political Commissioner Wang smiled and nodded, also taking out a notebook from his bag.

Han Yu picked up a document and stated concisely: "After nearly a month of preliminary investigations and mobilizing the public, we have collected over two hundred leads on maritime crimes. There are seven that we are confident in cracking soon, I'll report them one by one.

The first lead was just obtained this afternoon. A comrade from the Port Supervision Bureau's Ship Inspection Department passed through Changyu Shipbuilding Factory on his way to inspect a cargo ship and incidentally discovered an inland river cargo ship being dismantled that didn't look like a scrapped ship..."

People steal bicycles, motorcycles, and even cars on land, and similarly, it's possible for ships to be stolen on the river!

Political Commissioner Jiang startled, asked: "How big was that ship?"

"The specific tonnage needs to be calculated by the ship inspection department, but it looks to be about a thousand tons. To build such a cargo ship would cost at least one million two hundred thousand. If sold, based on the current second-hand ship market, it could fetch eight to nine hundred thousand."

"So, can we confirm that the ship's provenance was illegitimate?"

"Yes, I've already ordered Changyu Shipbuilding Factory in the name of the water police station to halt the dismantling, and I have ordered that the main engine and other removed equipment be sealed and the person responsible for the factory to arrange for someone to guard them."

Stealing ships was a first for Political Commissioner Jiang.

Political Commissioner Wang hadn't encountered this before either. Thinking of the ship's value at least being eight to nine hundred thousand, he couldn't help but smilingly ask: "Salted Fish, how do you plan to investigate this case?"

Friends from the Port Supervision Bureau have really helped a lot this time!

Han Yu never expected this unexpected gain, grinning he said: "Ningning just helped me contact the certificate issuance department to confirm the authenticity of the ship certificate, and we should receive feedback by tomorrow noon at the latest, but it is almost certain that the certificate is forged.

Once the certificate department provides feedback and confirms the certificate is false, we will contact the police bureaus and port supervision bureaus in Zhehai, Jianfu coastal areas, and inquire if there are any ship owners who have 'lost' ships or reported such incidents."

The ship worth nearly a million, suddenly gone, it's impossible for the ship owner not to report it.

Political Commissioner Jiang nodded, Political Commissioner Wang then looked up and said: "Isn't there a sales agreement signed between the ship seller and shipyard factory? The agreement has the name and ID number of the ship seller, that's also a lead, you can arrange someone to check it."

"Political Commissioner Wang, we temporarily cannot spare any manpower, nor do we have the funds."

Han Yu paused, then continued: "Actually, this case is not complicated. The possibility of an inside job or a familiar person committing the crime is high. As long as we can find the real ship owner, we can clarify the real identity of the person who stole and sold the ship, then organize forces for the arrest."

A case involving nearly a million was considered a trivial matter here, and they weren't even planning to designate someone to specifically investigate...

The two political commissioners couldn't believe their ears, stunned for a moment.

Han Yu had no idea what the two leaders were thinking. He picked up the second case file: "During this severe crackdown on the water, we started with the oil peddlers who sell cheap oil on the river. Based on the clues collected by the masses as mobilized by Captain Fan, we formed three investigation teams.

The first team includes Comrade Zhang Ping from our station and Comrade Dong Bangjun from the Water Police Fourth Squad of the Water Police Station. They are responsible for surveilling an oil peddler named Zhao Guofu. After nearly half a month of tracking and surveillance, it was discovered that Zhao Guofu's oil likely came from Zhangjia Port.

Various signs indicate that Zhao Guofu will make a move soon. Hence, we need to communicate and coordinate with the Changhang Guzhou Branch urgently and be ready to cast our net in the waters of Zhangjia Port at any time!"

The branch is desperately in need of a turnaround...

Political Commissioner Jiang asked excitedly, "What move will Zhao Guofu make?"

Han Yu smiled and said, "He's running low on oil. Zhang Ping found out that these past few days, he has frequently been calling crew members of a shipping company in the East Sea. Just yesterday morning, he was busy repairing the oil pump on his small oil boat."

Political Commissioner Wang curiously asked, "How did Zhang Ping know he was contacting the shipping company's crew?"

"He has a cell phone, but the day before yesterday afternoon, his phone ran out of battery, and he made a call from a public phone at Liuhe Port's Pier Two. After he finished, Zhang Ping also went to make a call, pretended to struggle with operating it, redialed, and through the last number dialed shown on the meter, he found it was a cell phone number and noted it down."

Han Yu smiled, adding, "After obtaining the cell number, I asked my senior to help by checking with the Linghai Post and Telecommunication Bureau. The comrades there told us it was an East Sea number. Then, we asked Deputy Captain Shao Lei from the Bai Shen Police Team to make a call to the East Sea, pretending to have dialed wrong, and chatted with the other party, thereby tricking them into revealing their workplace and name."

"It turns out we had help from Xu Mingyuan and comrades from the East Sea Branch."

"Political Commissioner Wang, this was a necessary measure, as we didn't have concrete evidence at hand, and we couldn't just run to the East Sea to ask the Post and Telecommunication Bureau for help. Even if we had concrete evidence, I couldn't spare the manpower or funds to investigate in detail right now."

"If there are no conditions, create them. Well done, what about the second team?"

"The second team consists of Comrade Ma Jintao from the Water Police Fourth Squad and Comrade Yang Yuan from the Water Police Third Squad. They aren't monitoring oil peddlers but are staking out a small pier at the border area between Gaoru and Xingtai."

"Staking out what?"

"A few crew members from the Linghai Shipping Company Fleet provided a tip. Two months ago, when they were passing by there, a small boat of fifty to sixty tons was seen alongside a five to six thousand-ton oil tanker. It was late at night, and that area isn't an anchorage. Normally, an oil tanker wouldn't anchor there, so the two boats acting sneakily must be up to something."

"Do you know the name or number of that oil tanker?"

"In the middle of the night, the shipping company's crew didn't see it clearly, they only knew that the oil tanker belonged to Hanwu."

"What could you possibly catch by staking out two months after the incident?"

"Political Commissioner Jiang, when we're out of options, we have to resort to the simplest methods."

Han Yu took a small sip of water, thought for a moment, then bitterly smiled, "Compared to the smuggling case we're jointly investigating with the Four Factory Police Station, what's sending two colleagues to stake out there?"

Political Commissioner Jiang was stunned and asked subconsciously, "Any progress on the Ningbo side?"

"Not for the moment; we've been watching for half a year already. We can only keep watching; we can't give up halfway."

"Alright, what about the third team?"

"The third team comprises Comrade Yang Yong and Comrade Yuan Peng from the Water Police Station, and they are monitoring an oil peddler in Changzhou. Unlike Zhao Guofu, who is monitored by the first team, this oil peddler from Changzhou collects oil from the river to sell onshore, and even opened a small gas station at the Biling Road."

Han Yu pulled out a map of Binjiang, found the location of the small gas station, and said with a smile, "His oil-collecting acts are almost public. He has printed many business cards and when he's free, he visits several small piers along the Yanjiang area, distributing them to crew members he encounters.

We also learned from inquiries that in April this year, a cargo ship registered in Xijiang was being repaired at the An Tai Shipyard in Yingchuan Port. A shipyard worker witnessed a crew member who stayed on board hiring a boat to siphon at least ten tons of diesel oil."

"Why not arrest them?"

"The shipyard worker just saw it, and after the cargo ship was repaired, it left. Although we can contact the ship owner, several months have passed, and the crew member who was selling the stolen oil might not even be working on the ship anymore. The evidence is not sufficient, and now is not the right time to make an arrest."