Yin, the brigade commander, and Yu Wenshu among others all nodded frequently.
For them, understanding the overall picture of the case was very important. Going into specifics, such as the arrest of a particular suspect, was not something they needed to arrange.
Yin spoke slowly, "So, the core manager of the Jianyuan Drug Trafficking Ring is also Yuan Jiansheng, who gradually pulled his company’s management team, including his children, into becoming the management of the drug ring?"
Liu Jinghui shook his head slightly and said, "As for who exactly is involved, we’re still not very clear, but Jianyuan actually split into two teams a long time ago. One team is made up of Yuan Jiansheng’s old buddies, roughly dozens of people, with the most core group being about thirty to forty individuals. They guard the old chemical factory, mainly the management team of Jianyuan Pharmaceutical Chemical Co., Ltd. Most of Jianyuan Group’s work is being done by some hired professional managers. Outsiders praise Yuan Jiansheng for not abandoning his old partners while maintaining the vitality of the company..."
"Looking at it now, their chemical factory operates on a razor-thin margin, and it’s always on the brink of loss. Only through illegal manufacturing can they turn a profit. So this group of people has also reached this point step by step. They don’t want to go bankrupt, so they turn to drugs?" Yu Wenshu frowned deeply as he listened.
"Then they are just too greedy," Jin, the deputy brigade commander with some understanding of the matter, said, "Chemical factories naturally operate on low profits, and it’s the larger-scale chemical factories that generate more profit. Small chemical plants are inherently difficult to survive. Jianyuan made themselves a fancy factory area and built mansions; the executives live lavishly, frequently going on high-standard team-building trips. It’s normal for them to be running at a loss."
Yin added, "Not even a state-owned chemical plant would dare to do this. Moreover, the money they make from drug trafficking can now support the company’s growth into a publicly traded entity..."
Liu Jinghui didn’t want the conversation to go off track, so he said, "The United States doesn’t produce its own drugs but imports goods from all over the world for consumption, and drugs are no exception. Yuan Jiansheng probably discovered this shortcut while doing import and export business. He thought he could make quick money, but didn’t expect that once they tasted the sweetness of honey, Jianyuan could never detach from it again."
At this point, Liu Jinghui paused, then continued, "The current issue is that we’ve identified some core members of the Jianyuan Drug Trafficking Ring, with six confirmed, and more than fifty others under suspicion, but we still lack definitive evidence. Do we carry out the arrests now?"
"If we arrest them, can we find enough physical evidence to prosecute them without relying on confessions?" Yin asked very professionally.
Liu Jinghui pondered, "There’s no guarantee of that."
"It would be ideal to have drugs and drug money as evidence," Yin said seriously.
Liu Jinghui said, "They are no small-time dealers anymore. Producing a batch of specialized precursors could result in several tons. Drugs and drug money can’t prove their scale!"
"Doesn’t that mean we need to find several tons of drugs to prove it?" Yin asked, then chuckled, "I’m not trying to be contentious, but is it really proper to catch drug dealers without any drugs or drug money?"
Liu Jinghui hadn’t seriously considered this issue before, and he replied, "I originally thought that the ledgers would be the most important part. Such a big operation can’t be managed without accounting books. So, our main goal should be to find his accounting records."
"When it comes to grasping the full picture of a case, the accounting books are certainly most important. But drug money and drugs are also extremely important," Yin said with great emphasis, and added, "If possible, it would be best to arrest them during a transaction."
"With Yuan Jiansheng’s status, it’s unlikely he would personally deal drugs, especially not in large quantities," Liu Jinghui said with a laugh.
"Then we should catch him in the drug production factory. That would be the most effective and also the most sensational," Yin suggested lightly, not elaborating further, but everyone present understood.
After all, when you think about it, if you said that a certain drug trafficking ring had been eradicated and so many people had been caught, and that the ring had been producing drugs for years, people outside the circle wouldn’t feel much. Even people within the circle, when they see such internal reports, can only praise and say ’impressive.’
But if it’s about eradicating a certain drug trafficking ring and confiscating ten or twenty tons of drugs, now that’s eye-catching. Even people within the circle would have to give a thumbs up and repeatedly say "awesome."
The special task force now gathered Changyang City’s Narcotics Brigade, Criminal Investigation Brigade, Image Reconnaissance Brigade, Forensic Science Center, as well as staff from the provincial department and various county and district bureaus. If all they got was a "you’re impressive," then that would seem too naive.
If possible, everyone still hoped to be seen in a different light by the leaders—everyone in this world is an ungrown child, hoping to be the object of praise, not just by parents alone.
"With the Huang Li ring taken down, Jianyuan must be in a very anxious state now," Liu Jinghui said as he rubbed his forehead.
If we must catch them in the act, that would mean increasing the difficulty, especially with a major case . It is pure fantasy to expect Yuan Jiansheng, whose face is already wrinkled with age, to carry out the trade himself. Even getting him to the production site would be incredibly difficult.
On the other hand, the two requirements of capturing in the act and incontrovertible evidence are also what criminal police officers most commonly face from their superiors—and these demands have their practical reasons.