Reborn Cat Sheriff

Chapter 495 Crooked ways
Although she received the most money, Xiong Yan, who was essentially the most innocent and foolish, became the unluckiest person.

When all the evidence proves that she was the mastermind behind this drug trafficking ring, and even she herself believes she is the leader, frankly, this is the best that can be done in this case.

It's not that we can't put more effort into finding the real leader, but from a legal perspective, everything must be based on evidence.

All evidence currently proves that Xiong Yan was the first to conceive of selling prohibited e-cigarettes, and she actively asked her younger sister, Xiong Lijuan, to recruit people and find sources of supply, choosing a night market as the sales location. While some may have encouraged or tempted her, it was undoubtedly she who ultimately succumbed to the temptation and committed this crime. If she hadn't been arrested, perhaps one day the person who lured her would regain control of the group, or perhaps Xiong Yan would have faced various unforeseen circumstances, but those possibilities haven't materialized yet. In short, Xiong Yan must now bear the consequences of illegally selling prohibited drugs, while the others are merely accomplices with much lighter charges.

Those of us who have been in this industry for a long time can generally estimate the punishment Xiong Yan will face. If it's considered illegal business operations, it's roughly a three-year prison sentence and a fine of one to five times the amount.

As for the other seven accomplices, apart from Xiong Lijuan who may be sentenced to the actual prison term, the others will most likely receive suspended sentences or even only detention.

"Too light!"

Chen Liang clenched his fists, deeply dissatisfied with the outcome. A drug dealer of his stature was only sentenced to three years? An accomplice with probation? How could such a punishment possibly deter those desperate criminals?

"Everyone should be given a peanut!"

Lin Ge was also very dissatisfied. He had worked so hard all day, and all he got was a three-year prisoner? That was such a waste of money, you bastard! As for the people baking tin foil and selling laughing gas, since it was the work of other police officers, Lin Ge didn't bother to claim it as his own.

"There's no other way. Etomidar has not yet been classified as a drug, so it can only be dealt with according to the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law concerning food and drugs, the crime of illegal business operations, and the crime of illegally producing and selling counterfeit drugs."

Shao Yongkang's expression was also grim, but he calmly advised everyone, "This is our job, and we can't blame the anti-drug squad. The only hope now is that the government updates its drug list as soon as possible, including etorizine and similar chemicals in the scope of drug control. Of course, it's not as simple as it sounds. After all, there are smart people among the drug dealers, and some who understand the law. Why are they targeting etorizine? Isn't it precisely because it's not yet considered a drug?"

At this point, Shao Yongkang sighed, then said sternly with a serious expression, "To be honest, this kind of thing will definitely happen countless times in the future! Opportunistic drug dealers will definitely keep an eye on every new psychotropic drug and turn it into narcotics for sale. What we need to do is to crush these people and these things completely during the period when they first emerge and before the country has had time to list them! Legislation takes time, and we will guard this period! Brothers, things are not like before! High technology benefits mankind, but it also benefits criminals! We can't use the old thinking of only focusing on heroin; we must take the initiative to suppress all new things and new possibilities!"

"Yes!"

The police officers saluted, indicating their determination to complete the mission.

Lin Ge nodded in agreement.

He strongly agreed with Shao Yongkang's statement that since the law is subject to delays, the police should have to work harder! We can't ignore those people just because the law hasn't been enacted yet; none of these drug traffickers should be let off the hook!

If you catch him every time he turns his head, he'll gradually become obedient.

Seeing the detectives' eagerness to steal their business, Lei Hanqin laughed and said, "Don't treat our Narcotics Control Team like idiots or wooden puppets! While we do need your help with this kind of thing, anything that could potentially become drugs is still within our Narcotics Control Team's scope of work! We occasionally ask for your help, but don't treat this as your main job, okay? You detectives have your own cases too, don't always try to steal our business! Let's work together to maintain social order, and I'll treat you to dinner after everything is handled well! Like, after we finish this today, shall we go to Juxiande?"

"Heh... I know you drug enforcement guys are rich, so I won't hold back!"

Shao Yongkang had no intention of being modest and nodded to accept Lei Hanqin's thanks.

In addition, Lei Hanqin adopted a very humble attitude, and the group of police officers looked at each other and laughed.

In any case, the drug traffickers have been caught, preventing this new type of drug from running rampant in Zhangzhou City. It has also given those idle people updating the drug catalog something to do. Everyone is satisfied with this result.

The group arrived at Juxiande Restaurant near the Municipal Bureau, which was surprisingly still open late at night. Seventy or eighty people occupied the entire banquet hall. Lei Hanqin took the initiative to arrange the banquet, while Shao Yongkang turned to look at Zhuang Tao'er, who seemed a little sullen.

Seeing Zhuang Tao'er lazily holding her juice glass but not drinking, Shao Yongkang leaned over and chuckled, "What's wrong? Are you upset because two of your high school classmates got into trouble? Or is it the feeling of personally arresting your deskmate that's bothering you?"

Zhuang Tao'er shook her head, took a sip of juice with a sigh, and said, "I just never expected them to turn to crime. To be honest, thinking back to high school, Xu Yang and Xiong Lijuan were both good students who were often praised by the teachers. How did they end up like this? I still remember that Xiong Lijuan was a very hardworking student back then, and she was even the class's discipline monitor. Haha... After a few years, the discipline monitor has become a drug dealer..."

Lin Ge looked up at Zhuang Tao'er and felt that her laughter was a bit grating.

Lin Ge understood Zhuang Tao'er's thoughts. The key point wasn't that the two people became drug dealers, but that Xiong Lijuan was willing to betray even her own sister to get into this line of work. Using her own sister as a shield—how despicable!

Morally speaking, Xiong Lijuan's actions were worse than those of many death row inmates! Yet, despite the heinous nature of her crimes, she doesn't face much punishment, which is why Zhuang Tao'er is in a bad mood.

If the law cannot effectively punish criminals, then more and more people will disregard the law in the future.

Zhuang Tao'er positioned herself as a professional police officer and told Shao Yongkang all her worries.

"Hehe... Fighting wits and courage against criminals is our job as police officers. Besides the battle of wits at crime scenes, the kind of thing you're worried about is indeed a problem we'll face more and more in the future."

Shao Yongkang smiled slightly, picked up the beverage bottle and refilled Zhuang Tao'er's glass, then changed his tone and said, "But... criminals grow up and become more and more cunning; are we police just going to stand still? Dealing with this kind of thing is simple: if you fresh blood become more and more capable, then that's it! We don't play the game of 'the devil is one foot taller than the saint,' but rather 'the saint is one foot taller than the saint!' As long as more and more outstanding talents enter the police system, criminals will never be able to cause any trouble! Besides, how many truly capable people would choose to engage in criminal activities? At most, it's just a few scoundrels whose hearts are not bound by the law! As long as we take action and work hard, we can arrest all these bastards, and only a few slightly clever crooks will be left outside! And how can these people be a match for you young people?"

Shao Yongkang spoke confidently and optimistically, while several police officers, including Lin Ge, nodded repeatedly in agreement.

The saying "evil cannot prevail over good" is actually that simple. No matter what tricks the enemy has up their sleeve, as long as the police themselves work hard to become stronger and absorb new blood, they will always be able to suppress these criminals.

"We were lucky today; there were a few large yellow croakers and swimming crabs left in the kitchen, so I had them all cooked. By the way, what are you all talking about? You all look so serious, like you're taking an oath to join the Party?"

Lei Hanqin walked in from outside in a good mood.

"You're such a cheapskate! With so many people, you think you can just throw in a few yellow croakers?"

Shao Yongkang looked at Lei Hanqin with disdain.

"There's nothing we can do! It's so late, what good stuff could possibly be left? Besides, it's a good thing Juxiande is located next to our municipal bureau, otherwise most restaurants would be closed by now, right? Brothers, make do with this. Next time, I'll book a table in advance and make sure it's a feast for everyone."

Lei Hanqin explained with a smile, and seeing his brothers waving their hands and saying that as long as there was food, they were fine with it, he didn't take Shao Yongkang's nonsense to heart.

Seeing Lin Ge dozing off alone on a chair, Lei Hanqin went over and patted him on the head. Before Lin Ge could retaliate in annoyance, he took a few steps back to a safe place.

Waving his hands in surrender, Lei Hanqin laughed, "Mimi has worked hard today too, I'll reward you later. I just found a big crab in the kitchen that the chef was hiding for himself, and I insisted that he get rid of it! This is the only one, it's just for you, Mimi!"

"That's pretty much it!"

Lin Ge nodded in satisfaction, then looked up at Lei Hanqin and let out a loud "Awooo!": "There's no such thing as a free lunch. You need my help again, don't you?" "Hehe... Your little schemes can't be hidden from this cat!"

Shao Yongkang was less mocking Lei Hanqin and more trying to persuade him. He chuckled and said provocatively, "If you want Mimi's help, you'll have to offer something substantial! You know, Mimi is the police cat of Zhanghe Police Station, and behind her is that bastard Nie Guoqiang! Even if Nie Guoqiang isn't in Zhangshi right now, you can't just bully the police cats under his command. If you want to order her around, you'll have to be sincere."

"Of course! I understand the attitude of asking for help. For example, this time, didn't I treat you to dinner out of my own pocket? Ask around at the Municipal Bureau, do you think I, Lei Hanqin, am a miser?"

Lei Hanqin chuckled, then leaned closer to Lin Ge and said, "Mimi, the matter of relying on Mi Zhi isn't over yet! Although we've caught a group of traffickers, the real manufacturers are still hiding in the shadows! We can't completely resolve this by just catching a few distributors without taking down this underground factory. So, we'll need your help to take down that underground factory first."

"Any clues?"

Shao Yongkang frowned and put down his wine glass. These behind-the-scenes producers are not as easy to deal with as the goods sold on the street.

Lei Hanqin's expression turned serious, and he said softly, "It's fortunate that Yitai Mizhi isn't a drug yet, so those people aren't as cautious as drug dealers. Xiong Lijuan just confessed to the police that she went to Changshi specifically to pick up the goods. Although the people behind it didn't take her directly to the factory, Xiong Lijuan is smart. Just from a few words and the truck used to transport the goods, she deduced that the other party was a local from Changshi. In addition, based on her testimony and the existing clues, I judge from experience that the other party is not some underground workshop, but most likely a professional factory with standardized production methods. At least the packaging and standardized molding equipment they use are definitely large machines from a legitimate company."

"Do legitimate factories resort to shady practices?"

Shao Yongkang suddenly remembered what happened last year. The local Baike Pharmaceutical Factory in Zhangzhou was involved in the theft and sale of raw materials for drug trafficking, and it is still under investigation.

Despite the group's leaders' best efforts to smooth things over and the pharmaceutical factory's employees' frequent appeals to the municipal government, the scope and nature of this incident were simply too egregious, making the chances of the old pharmaceutical factory being granted permission to resume production extremely slim. Furthermore, several of the factory's leaders spent the Lunar New Year in detention. Although the case has not yet been formally closed and sentenced, it is highly likely that none of these individuals will escape imprisonment.

This incident, coupled with Lei Hanqin's mention of legitimate companies, made Shao Yongkang feel somewhat irritated.

Why do companies with legitimate licenses not focus on production and instead engage in these shady practices? Even if these shady practices can make money, can any of the leaders escape punishment?

If it were his own company, that would be one thing, at least he'd be making money for himself. But if he's just an employee, even a factory manager, how much benefit could he possibly gain from this criminal business? What's the point of doing it?

Shao Yongkang really couldn't understand what some people were thinking.

"But... if this were in Changshi, shouldn't the local municipal bureau be handling this case? Why would Captain Lei need to take Mimi there specifically?"

Zhuang Tao'er asked in confusion.

Changshi has its own municipal public security bureau and its own anti-drug unit. Why would their local illegal businesses need Lei Hanqin to beg Mimi for help?
"You all know about the Tiger virus, right?"

Lei Hanqin didn't hide anything, but looked around at the few squad leaders who had gathered around, as well as the cat that had suddenly pricked up its ears and was looking at him.

While the Tiger virus issue might be kept secret from the public for the time being, it couldn't be kept from local police units. Furthermore, various cities and counties were sending personnel to cities with airports to assist with this effort, and the Zhangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau had also dispatched many people on business trips to help. Everyone was naturally aware of the situation.

Seeing everyone nod slowly with solemn expressions, and Mimi even glaring as if she wanted to kill, Lei Hanqin waved his hand and laughed, "It's not that exaggerated, don't think too much. It's just that Changshi is under a lot of pressure dealing with the Tiger virus, and most of the police have been assigned to the prevention and control work around the airport. Right now, Changshi is really short-handed to deal with other large-scale cases. The new type of drugs from Changshi has already entered Zhangshi, and who knows if there are similar drug traffickers in other cities and counties around. I just took a break and called Lao Liu from the Changshi Narcotics Control Detachment. He said he needs our help, and it's better to do it sooner rather than later. We can't wait until the epidemic is over before they call their people back."

"Another business trip?"

Lin Ge yawned, looking slightly reluctant.

He just got back from Chu City yesterday, okay? He finally got a break, and then all this mess comes up on his second day! Even if he has to go on a business trip, he should at least get a few more days of rest!
Lin Ge is now completely silent about the matter of going to Chu City to help out this morning; all he wants to do right now is sleep.

Lei Hanqin could tell what the cat was thinking as soon as he saw Lin Ge's expression, but he wasn't in a hurry. He just turned to Lin Ge and smiled, saying, "Hehe... Mimi, Lao Nie is also in Changshi. And Zhao Zhigang from your police station, I remember he's Zhao Zhigao's younger brother, right? Although you're going there on official business, can't you also go and check on their situation? Or should I call Lao Nie and see what his attitude is?"

"That bastard has no attitude whatsoever! If it's for solving a case, he'll absolutely agree to any request you make!"

Lin Ge couldn't help but roar, and then glared fiercely at Lei Hanqin.

He knew he'd been tripped up by this bastard. Given Nie Guoqiang's personality, how could he possibly turn a blind eye to a new type of drug incident threatening the entire Chu province? He would definitely agree, without even the slightest hesitation.

But does Ringo need any benefits now?

What he needs now is rest!
"I shouldn't have joined in this fun. After dealing with Teddy at the police dog unit, I should have rushed home! Where did all this curiosity come from? Now I'm all tangled up in a leash again!"

Lin Ge sighed silently.

"Once this is all done, I'll treat you to a lavish reward, okay?"

Lei Hanqin didn't want to make things too tense, mainly because he might need the cat's help in the future, and there was no need to ruin the relationship now.

Even though his unit had dedicated drug-sniffing dogs, they weren't as useful as this cat that could understand human speech! He had even used his connections to find out that this cat had distinguished itself in this year's pandemic response, its name and deeds already widely known. While how powerful or influential the cat became was irrelevant to him, it at least proved that the cat's abilities weren't yet fully realized, and perhaps he could even use it to achieve some unexpected gains!

You definitely can't bring too many people when you go to Changshi, otherwise it's a sign of distrust.

If you can only bring your best personnel, then bringing this cat is definitely the best choice! Who wants to work so hard outside, right? It's much better to finish the case quickly and come back sooner!

By the way, let Changshi see the capabilities of our Zhangshi Anti-Drug Brigade, so that outsiders won't look down on us.

For the past month or so, the battle against the review process has been raging.

As I said before, watch it while you have time, don't wait until the review process starts. Even if I can get the editor to unblock it, it will take time, and it's unavoidable that some content will be cut occasionally.

However, within half an hour or an hour of its release, manual reviewers certainly wouldn't have time to notice it during their lunch break, unless they've already thoroughly targeted us, hehe.

Those who know, know. Lately, the battle with the censors has been one of the few sources of enjoyment besides writing.

Okay, also, I'd like to ask for your monthly votes.

Brothers, it's almost the end of the month! As usual, everyone check your wallets and if you have any monthly tickets, please cast them. We're still a little short of 1,000 tickets this month.

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(End of this chapter)