National Forensic Doctor
Chapter 823 - 764: Circle Layer

Chapter 823: Chapter 764: Circle Layer

The meat pies were gobbled up, the marinated dishes were gobbled up, the skewers were gobbled up, the congee was finished off, and after reluctantly eating some barbecue, the phone at the interrogation center rang.

Meng Chengbiao on the other end of the phone said, "We got a confession, and it turns out they are just small fries, former smugglers. Director Qi’s colleague showed their credentials, and those guys immediately knew what was going on."

"I’ve put it on speaker, Director Liu and Captain Wu are here," Jiang Yuan placed the mobile phone on the table.

Meng Chengbiao, a member of the Cold Case Squad, had followed them all the way from Shannan Province, so what he knew, Wu Junhao and others naturally knew as well.

Meng Chengbiao carefully chose his words and said, "Based on the current confession, the actual controller of this import and export trading company is named Ye Quanyou. Ye Quanyou is involved in a half-ton case; he’s a minor leader of a fringe gang..."

"Fringe gang? How come he wasn’t captured?" Wu Junhao asked.

"When he was arrested, Ye Quanyou fired a gun and was shot dead," Meng Chengbiao said.

Wu Junhao exclaimed in shock, "The clue is cut off?"

"Not exactly. But, may I first summarize the hierarchical relationships among them?"

"Go ahead, say it."

Meng Chengbiao continued, "The first layer should be the several business spies caught in the half-ton case. This spy network developed some smuggling channels, including normal channels, gray channels, and purely smuggling channels. There are four people responsible for operating these channels, forming the second layer, among them is a smuggler named Zhou Shansong, who manages several black smuggling channels."

"Zhou Shansong originally had multiple subordinates and his own smuggling channels; he managed the most channels and had the most involvement in the black elements. After the incident, including Zhou Shansong, six people were arrested and two were killed, one of whom was Ye Quanyou."

Wu Junhao counted on his fingers and followed, "So, Zhou Shansong is the second layer? Ye Quanyou is the third layer? Ye Quanyou died, what about Zhou Shansong?"

"Zhou Shansong was captured. He’s still serving his sentence, but he is not very clear about the matters Ye Quanyou was secretly handling."

"As long as he is alive, go on," said Liu Jinghui, listening intently.

Meng Chengbiao went on, "According to the dossier, Zhou Shansong controlled many black channels, primarily small batch, multiple batch operations, probably for smuggling information and goods in and out. Ye Quanyou was just in charge of several of these channels. Initially, Zhou Shansong was doing the actual work but gradually delegated tasks such as transferring smuggled goods, personnel management, and delivery to his subordinates, including Ye Quanyou."

Meng Chengbiao said, "Above is the information involved in the previous case."

"Next, are the conclusions drawn after today’s interrogation." Meng Chengbiao stated, then continued, "As Zhou Shansong delegated power, Ye Quanyou started to secretly establish Chaikolab Import and Export Trading Company, which he purchased. The company’s business mainly utilized the channels given by Zhou Shansong to secretly make money for Ye Quanyou himself."

Meng Chengbiao, "Ultimately, the four people you arrested are all subordinates of Ye Quanyou. That’s all."

Wu Junhao patted his head, "Let me sort this out, so there were a few spies who created some smuggling channels, then, the spies recruited a few people locally to manage these channels, those who were recruited each formed a group, and one member of the group secretly started a company, then, we caught the people from this company."

"Right," Meng Chengbiao nodded.

Liu Jinghui said, "There were also people from this company among the dead."

Wu Junhao was startled, "Thinking about it this way, is the motive for the murder related to the smuggling business?"

"Pretty much," Meng Chengbiao said. "The person you brought back, Ouyang Wei, claimed that Wang Bo was taken away by Ye Quanyou alone for hiding rhino horns, and he never saw him again after that."

"When did this happen?"

"Over five years ago."

The estimated time of death matches, and this clue was quite significant, making Wu Junhao say, "He’s been hiding this secret all along? Well, since Ye Quanyou is dead, it would be hard for him to try to turn in evidence for a lighter sentence."

"He doesn’t need to turn in evidence," Meng Chengbiao stated. "Ouyang Wei has never been under the police’s radar. The entire Chaikolab Import and Export Trading Company was outside the special investigation team’s surveillance. Ye Quanyou was shot and killed on the spot, and the others probably didn’t know he was still skimming off the company."

Liu Jinghui pondered and then said, "The people from this import and export company that could be caught have been caught... Was there no witness to the homicide? Is there a hidden mole by Ye Quanyou, or could the killer be someone who escaped?"

"I don’t know, some people did escape abroad. Those in the country are probably living under assumed identities."

"So the trail’s gone cold?"

"Not necessarily," Meng Chengbiao was not surprised and continued, without making everyone anxious, "Ouyang Wei brought up someone, named Duan Xueping. According to him, Duan Xueping’s role should be similar to his, also working for a smuggling group. He even specifically observed him."

"Why did he take notice of this Duan Xueping?" Liu Jinghui was particularly sharp right now; he didn’t want his team to unknowingly walk right into another group.

Meng Chengbiao smiled slightly and said, "After Ouyang Wei had money, he met a beautiful girl in a bar, the two hit it off, only to later discover she was Duan Xueping’s girlfriend. Ouyang Wei then followed Duan Xueping for a while, discovered he was also involved in smuggling, and planned to get him arrested, only..."

Mu Zhiyang quipped, "Only what?"

"Ouyang Wei found another missing person, Wei Denggui, for help and took out Ouyang Wei’s photo. Wei Denggui discouraged Ouyang Wei, saying that their bosses knew each other."

"The boss refers to the dead Ye Quanyou?"

"It should be Zhou Shansong," Meng Chengbiao paused, then said, "Anyway, two months later, the beautiful girl broke up with Duan Xueping and stopped dealing with Ouyang Wei. Ouyang Wei didn’t bother Duan Xueping anymore."

"Now turning him in to get a lighter sentence is just right," Liu Jinghui nodded and stopped talking.

Wu Junhao and Jiang Yuan exchanged glances, saying, "So now we go catch this Duan Xueping?"

"Yes. Let’s go," Jiang Yuan picked up his phone, asking Meng Chengbiao to send the relevant information to himself and Wu Junhao.

A convoy of 7 vehicles set out again.

As they approached the destination, the three vehicles that had previously transported the suspects also returned, forming a large convoy of 10 vehicles.

The lead car followed Duan Xueping’s cell signal, stopping in front of an eSports hotel.

"What’s the situation, isn’t he a local? Staying in a hotel? Hosting friends?" Wu Junhao, being from a smaller town, had only heard that this was the custom in big cities and wasn’t sure if it was true.

"I’ll go ask around. You guys are a bit too intimidating," Wang Chuanxing volunteered, got out of the car alone, went to the hotel front desk to inquire and took over the front desk computer.

Two members of the first team then stepped forward, securing both the main entrance and the elevator.

This e-sports hotel was the size of a typical express hotel, but it had ample parking spaces in front and relatively nicer interior decorations; however, the lobby was small, barely a hundred square meters, which could be easily controlled by two or three people.

Wang Chuanxing soon returned to the team and reported to Wu Junhao and Jiang Yuan, "Duan Xueping didn’t register with his ID, but he has been staying in Room 311 since yesterday. Room 311 was booked by a man named Tao Wen, who reserved a luxury 5-person suite. Surveillance confirmed that there are at least four people already staying there, including Duan Xueping."

"Does Duan Xueping, who competed with Ouyang Wei for a girlfriend, like playing e-sports? He’s also well into his thirties," Wu Junhao mused with a frown. Raiding a hotel room is simple, but there’s clearly a difference between a room with two people and one with five.

It was like having five pigs in a sheep pen; injuring oneself or the pigs would be tricky. And how would the sheep view this situation!

At that moment, Fang Peimao from Director Qi’s deputy team walked over and sagely suggested, "Probably gathering for drug use. E-sports hotel rooms often can fit five or six people, though bunk beds aren’t exactly convenient. I looked at this luxury five-person room; it has an extra bedroom with five small beds, which could prevent them from breaking a leg if they get too high..."

Wu Junhao realized the implication and his expression grew solemn. He whispered, "Let’s handle it as a drug bust then. Chuanxing, get another room layout. Is the hallway and elevator setup complex? If it’s like the Home Inn or Hanting, fetch a position chart as well."

After he finished, he started assigning tasks to the others.

This time, plainclothes weren’t necessary; all officers wore fully equipped uniforms, and members of the Bald Strike Team each carried a baton and a spray.

Jiang Yuan obediently put on his stab-proof vest, helmet, and gloves, also carrying a baton and spray.

Seeing this, Wu Junhao refrained from any further comment. They had been running around all day, and there was no point in hurrying now.

Few were tasked with guarding the vehicles, entrances, the lobby, and the underground parking, while roughly twenty others, half swarmed into the elevator, and half took the stairs.

Jiang Yuan and Mu Zhiyang followed the stair group, as per Wu Junhao’s assignment, which in theory was also somewhat safer.

They reached the third floor in a moment.

Jiang Yuan caught his breath, thinking about whether Wu Junhao would give a pre-raid pep talk, when he heard a "beep" in front.

Wu Junhao and the others silently entered the room.

Jiang Yuan couldn’t enter, so he remained in the corridor.

Even from afar, he could smell a strong scent in the air.

Taking advantage of his height, Jiang Yuan could see several stainless steel bottles toppled in the room.

"Police. Don’t run!"

Wu Junhao grabbed a druggie, pinned him to the ground, and had someone handcuff him.

In a moment, four people were handcuffed in the middle of the room, surrounded by a stainless steel bottle and questioned.

"What is this?" Wu Junhao asked, pointing at the steel bottle.

With drug-use evidence now at hand, controlling these individuals became easier, obviating a need for another round of interrogation.

"Dinitrogen monoxide."

The target, Duan Xueping, appeared much thinner than in his photos, listlessly suppressed by Wu Junhao, reluctantly answering the questions.

"What’s dinitrogen monoxide called in the market? What name do you use when you buy it?" Wu Junhao pressed on under the camera and law enforcement recorder.

Duan hesitated, then said, "Laughing gas."

This satisfied Wu Junhao, who nodded and asked, "Where did you get it?"

"Bought it on Q."

...

While the dialogue continued, the door of the adjacent room quietly opened, and a figure stealthily slipped out.

Watching the commotion, Jiang Yuan nudged Mu Zhiyang without saying a word; another detective nearby launched a kick that sent the figure flying.

"Go help!" No longer just an observer, Jiang Yuan quickly ran over with Mu Zhiyang and others.

Arriving at the door of the neighboring room, Jiang Yuan instinctively looked up and saw several terrified drug users inside, among them a skinny young man, holding a switchblade!

"I’ll kill you!" The skinny young man sneered, vigor surging from the drugs, and he lunged forward.

Zi!

A stun baton jabbed into the skinny young man’s left rib.

The young man twitched noticeably.

Thud!

A baton smashed onto the skinny young man’s right hand, knocking the switchblade to the ground.

Puff!

Simultaneously, a cloud of pepper spray enveloped the skinny young man’s face.

The weapon, touted as the strongest police tool, would cause uncontrollable tears and mucus flow, rendering him immobile.

The young man’s reddened eyes seemed to dim.

Only the profuse mucus and tears testified to his physiological reaction.

Zi!

Another stun baton, delayed only by 0.1 seconds, jabbed the skinny young man’s right rib.

The young man clearly moved no more.