Binjiang Police Affairs

At dawn, the rising red sun climbed slowly from the east. The splendid morning glow reflected on the river surface, like red silk cut by a fairy, making the Yangtze River especially vibrant.

Han Yu stood on the Changhang Zhenjiang Branch's Xingtai Port Police Station motorboat, confirming that the "Changjiang No.2" oil tanker had dropped anchor and turned around to signal the pilot to approach.

Shi Shengyong and Political Commissioner Jiang, accompanied by the instructor from the Xingtai Port Police Station, stood on the aft deck of the motorboat, wearing life jackets and holding onto the railing tightly, fearing they might accidentally fall into the river.

He had thought the interception action would be very dangerous, even mentally prepared for boarding and grappling, but everything went smoother than expected.

Han Yu had simply requested the Zhenjiang Port Supervision Bureau Traffic Control Center and the Xingtai Port Police Station to call out via the high-frequency radio, ordering the "Changjiang No.2" oil tanker, which had just arrived in the waters of Xingtai Port, to anchor in the anchorage ahead for inspection. The "Changjiang No.2" obediently sailed into the anchorage.

Approaching a large ship with a small boat is a dangerous affair.

Shi Shengyong couldn't help but ask: "Political Commissioner Jiang, they won't attempt to lift the anchor and flee, will they?"

Without waiting for Political Commissioner Jiang to speak, Instructor Zhang from the Xingtai Port Police Station laughed and said: "Rest assured, they wouldn't dare."

"Wouldn't they become desperate?"

"Nope."

Instructor Zhang laughed and patiently explained: "The water is not the shore, and boats are not cars or motorcycles. Even if they wanted to run, they wouldn't be able to go fast."

A landlubber is a landlubber, it is quite common not to understand the situation on the water.

Political Commissioner Jiang chuckled at Shi Shengyong's overreaction, holding onto the railing and yawning incessantly, saying: "This is the area under the jurisdiction of the Zhenjiang Port Supervision Bureau. If they ignore commands and continue upstream, there are Supervision Boats waiting for them. If they turn around and go downstream, there are Supervision Boats from the Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau. Even if they wanted to escape, where could they possibly go?"

As they spoke, the oil tanker was already close at hand. Two sailors could be seen on the deck looking over in their direction.

Han Yu walked to the bow of the small motorboat, leaning over and knocking on the wheelhouse window. He took the megaphone from the pilot's hand and shouted: "Attention crew of Changjiang No.2, we are Changhang navigation police, conducting a routine check on your vessel. Please step back!"

The two sailors were stunned for a moment but obediently moved toward the stern of the ship.

Han Yu returned the megaphone to the pilot, bent down and skillfully tied the rope to the tanker's bollard.

Seeing Han Yu secure the bow, Instructor Zhang immediately took the rope and threw it across, securing the stern of the motorboat.

Han Yu looked back and, holding the rope tightly, climbed aboard the oil tanker first. He then walked along the side of the ship to the back, pulling up Shi Shengyong, Political Commissioner Jiang, and Instructor Zhang.

They say it's better to be safe than sorry. The captain of the tanker hadn't expected the Changhang navigation police from Xingtai Port to be so cautious. Not content with just boarding the ship, they worried that the crew might push them into the river, insisting the crew stay away from the boarding area.

While the captain was grumbling internally, Han Yu quickly approached and asked coldly, "Who is the captain?"

"I am."

"How many people are on board?"

"Six."

"Gather everyone at the helm, and don't forget to bring your ID and Seaman's Certificate."

"Alright, right this way."

Previously, when working on passenger ships, safety had to be the top priority.

Later, as a representative of Cosco involved in the transfer of "Big Shark," safety was even more paramount.

Over time, Han Yu had developed a habit of being cautious, then cautious again.

Once the captain, Chief Officer, Chief Engineer, Second Chief Engineer, and two sailors were all in the helm, Shi Shengyong and Instructor Zhang were immediately asked to guard the door.

Changsheng Ship Transport Company was a state-owned shipping enterprise, and the captain and crew were employees of a state-owned enterprise. Although they were surprised by the boarding inspection from the police of Xingtai Port, they were not afraid. If it were the Port Supervision boarding for inspection, they would be somewhat nervous.

After all, if the Port Supervision found any issues, there would be a fine.

If sanctioned by Port Supervision, the company would surely investigate their responsibility upon returning.

Han Yu didn't know what they were thinking. He opened his bag, took out a folder, accepted the ID and Seaman's Certificates, and while registering, asked, "Which one is Yang Qingcheng?"

The captain looked up and replied, "It's me."

"Do you know why we are boarding for inspection?"

"Why?"

"It seems you really don't know. Let me give you a hint: who is Xiao Zhengjun?"

The captain did not expect the police to ask this, his heart skipped a beat, and he didn't know how to answer for a moment. The other sailors were also stunned, and the youngest among them was shaking with fear.

Han Yu raised his head, staring at the captain, and reminded him: "Answer my question."

The captain came to his senses, nervously said: "Xiao Zhengjun is the Deputy Director of our company's business department. Officer, do you know Director Xiao?"

"We not only know him but also know Ren Fuqiang."

"..."

"What's scaring you? It's only six o' clock now; the weather isn't that hot. Why are you sweating?"

The captain realized that the situation was exposed, and beads of sweat the size of soybeans broke out on his forehead. The other sailors were similarly terrified, without exception, hanging their heads low, not daring to look up.

Director Li from the Gaoru Port Police Station had interrogated several suspects caught over the night, and the situation was largely clarified.

This was a case involving internal and external collusion to steal gasoline from the oil tanker.

Ren Fuqiang from Gaoru was primarily engaged in receiving and selling stolen goods, but the main culprit on the shipping company side wasn't the few crew on the ship, but Xiao Zhengjun, the Deputy Director from Hanwu's business department.

Mr. Xiao, driven by self-interest and using his position, had concocted the idea of stealing gasoline from the oil tankers his company was contracted to carry.

He first tempted the captain and crew to participate with the promise of benefits, then arranged over the phone with Ren Fuqiang to have modified small cargo ships siphon oil from the tanker as it passed through the Yangtze River waters at the junction of Gaoru and Xingtai, stealing about 55 tons of gasoline for Ren Fuqiang on this occasion alone.

Mr. Xiao couldn't escape. Director He had already communicated and coordinated with the Hanwu Branch, asking the Hanwu Branch to arrest him on their behalf.

Han Yu hadn't slept all night, was tired and sleepy, and didn't want to beat around the bush with them, he said sternly: "We have evidence of your embezzlement, and now your attitude is crucial. Take a stand quickly. Do you want to actively cooperate with the investigation for leniency, or do you plan to take your chances and refuse to cooperate?"

"I'll cooperate, police officer, I'll cooperate."

"Li Xiaobin, how about you?"

"I will cooperate as well."

"What about you guys?"

"Police officer, I was wrong, I dare not disobey Director Xiao, I..."

"Knowing your mistake is good enough. As for how you sold the gasoline, our investigating officers will ask you about it later. I'll only ask you one question now. Your company loaded 2,100 tons of gasoline at Dacang Petrochemical Pier and brought it to your company's pier to unload. The quantity must be measured when feeding into the tanks. How could your company not notice when there is a deficit of over fifty tons at once?"

The police indeed knew everything!

The Captain didn't dare to take any chances and cautiously said, "Director Xiao instructed us to collect the tank-cleaning oil in the bilge water tank after completing each oil transport task. Over the past few months, we've accumulated more than fifty tons. When it came time to unload at the oil depot, we unloaded the tank-cleaning oil from the bilge water tank into the tanks as if it were gasoline."

So they were passing off the accumulated tank-cleaning oil as the same batch of high-quality gasoline and unloading it into the oil storage.

Han Yu nodded, then asked, "Doesn't your company have regulations on how to deal with tank-cleaning oil?"

"Yes."

"What are those regulations?"

"After every transport mission, we must unload the tank-cleaning oil."

"So in order not to let the company find out, you violated the regulations and saved the tank-cleaning oil."

"It was Director Xiao who asked us to save it."

"Xiao Zhengjun instructed this?"

"Uh-huh."

"Alright, stretch out your hands."

"Ah..."

"What 'ah'!" Han Yu snorted coldly and took out handcuffs.

The Captain realized and extended his hands with a look of worry and resignation.

Political Commissioner Jiang, Shi Shengyong, and Instructor Zhang, seeing the situation clarified, immediately took out the handcuffs they had prepared and cuffed the remaining few crew members before escorting them into one of the crew cabins.

At 6:28 am, a patrol boat slowly approached.

Secretary Qian from Changhang Binjiang Branch Criminal Police Team and Captain Bai from Gaoru Port Police Station, together with the crew found overnight at Gaoru Port, boarded the ship.

After Han Yu expressed his thanks to Instructor Zhang from Xingtai Port Police Station and saw off the small boat from the station, he acquainted the crew from Gaoru Port with the ship, became the Captain in a body shift, and steered the Changjiang No.2 Oil Tanker to set sail back home.

After all, this was an oil tanker with more than two thousand tons of gasoline on board. No one could rest easy if it were just left moored in someone else's waters. It had to be taken back.

Once the case was clear, Changsheng Ship Transport Company in Hanwu would arrange for a new Captain and crew to come over and sail the ship away.

...

While Han Yu was finally getting a taste of being an oil tanker Captain, the entire Binjiang Port was in an uproar.

News of a murderer from Port Supervision Bureau had spread quickly – and it was a serial murderer at that!

Last year, when a murder occurred, Port Authority hadn't yet re-established the Economic Police Team. Captain Chen only knew about a lady from a beauty salon in the Port District being killed.

This year, the situation was different. Shortly after he took over as Security Director, another case of a lady murdered came to his attention, which he had assisted in investigating under the requests from the City Bureau Criminal Investigation Team and Port District Bureau.

Anyone with a previous record or bad reputation among the staff was questioned by Old Shen and the Economic Police, asking where they were on the night of the murder and if anyone could confirm their alibi...

For this reason, he knew a bit about the case.

He took several drags of his cigarette to calm his shock and mumbled, "How could it be Lu Binxiang from Port Supervision Bureau? He doesn't look like a psychopath."

Old Shen did not think that the City Bureau Criminal Investigation Team and Port District Bureau could have been wrong. He opened the window, looked towards the direction of Port Supervision Bureau and sighed lightly, "This just shows you can't judge a book by its cover."

"He's a college graduate, an engineer."

"What does that have to do with education? Huang Yuanchang from Port Supervision Bureau is also highly educated but having a high education doesn't mean one has good character."

As a former safety production director of Port Authority, Chen Xiangyang knew the situation at the Port Supervision Bureau very well and could not help but exhale, "The feng shui at the Port Supervision Bureau isn't great; how did it end up with these two?"

Port Supervision Bureau had split off from Port Authority, and Old Shen was equally familiar with the situation. He looked back and said, "The two prodigies of the time, one handling legal affairs and the other boat inspections, one civil and one military, everyone thought they had bright futures. Who would've imagined that one was incompetent and the other turned out to be a psychopathic murderer. Looking back, the feng shui at Port Supervision Bureau really seems off."

"How embarrassing, we're disgraced along with them!"

"Captain Chen, let's not talk about this now. You still have to attend a meeting at the City Bureau."

"Almost forgot, I need to go to the meeting."

While packing the documents, Chen Xiangyang said resentfully, "The crackdown achievements of each department were released last month, and our team should have been commended. I wonder if it will be affected by that scoundrel Lu Binxiang."

Old Shen looked up and said, "What does that have to do with us?"

Chen Xiangyang replied helplessly, "In the Port District they are Port Supervision Bureau, we are Port Authority, and Changhang Bureau are separate entities. But at the city level, they see us as one!"

Unfortunately, Chen Xiangyang was somewhat right.

Old Shen was also frustrated and said after a moment of silence, "He Bin is also attending the meeting today. He's not afraid of losing face, what are you afraid of?"

"He's different from us. He's an outsider. Even though he gets paid by Port Authority, he's never really considered himself one of us. He's not afraid to lose face."

"Lu Binxiang murdering has nothing to do with him. He doesn't fear people laughing at him, but getting results in the crackdown is up for assessment. I heard the Airport Division asked for help from Changzhou Police Bureau last month and solved several cases, arresting more than a dozen suspects. Changhang Bureau caught a few last month, and I reckon he will get recognized this time."

"The City Bureau's leaders will give him face, they probably won't ask him to go on stage for self-criticism, but Old Jiang probably can't escape that fate."

"Who asked him to be a Deputy Director, and moreover, the one responsible for security and criminal investigations."

"That's true, I'm heading out. I can't be late to such an interesting event."