Diary of a Criminal Investigator

Chapter 731: The Unreported Theft Case

Sun Biao almost burst out laughing in anger.Third Zhao mentioned "Er Ma", someone Sun Biao was also familiar with.

A rather notorious habitual thief in Haizhou City.

Not only was he caught by the High-tech Zone Criminal Investigation Team, but he was also caught by criminal investigation teams or police stations from other districts.

He got married, bought a house, bought a car, and supposedly went straight; isn’t that a good thing.

What kind of news is this?

"Third Zhang, someone else going straight won’t reduce your sentence!"

Third Zhang hurriedly explained, "No, no, Captain Sun, that’s not what I meant."

"I meant that the way he got his money is questionable."

"During the New Year, after I finished a job... no, I mean after I earned some money and took him out for drinks, he got drunk."

"He told me the source of his money is..."

In the meeting room.

"Can we trust Third Zhang’s words?"

Chen Jiang expressed skepticism.

Being stolen from, three million, and not reporting it?

Is he out of his mind?

Sun Biao didn’t believe it either.

Er Ma, real name Li Jun, got his nickname because his face had pockmarks and he was the second child in his family.

This Er Ma was a frequent guest at the Public Security Bureau.

He had been committing crimes around the South Suburb and High-tech Zone for over ten years.

In the earlier years, he was a key target for the High-tech Zone Criminal Investigation Team and the suburban team.

In recent years, he seemed to have been more law-abiding.

But actually, it was because he had spent quite a bit of time inside, learning new tricks.

It’s like he had undergone further training, and his technical skills and experience improved.

Now, when committing crimes, he was much harder to catch.

Sun Biao had seen him six months ago, related to another theft case.

"Of course, you can’t entirely trust these guys’ words."

Although Lu Chuan hadn’t been in the grassroots levels, during his time with the Criminal Investigation Team, he participated in solving many theft cases.

The theft cases reaching the level of the Criminal Investigation Team usually involved large sums and were quite complex.

Often involving hundreds of thousands or even millions.

From several significant theft cases, Lu Chuan noticed a pattern.

The suspects in these cases were all repeat offenders.

None were first-timers.

During interrogations, when caught, during sentencing, every one of them claimed it was their last time.

Except for a few who truly went straight, most were repeat offenders.

Today’s arrest, Third Zhang, was one of them.

For people like him, don’t bother with anything they say; just present the evidence and arrest them, everything else they say is false.

"However, it doesn’t hurt to investigate."

When Lu Chuan got this information, his first thought was: if Third Zhang said Er Ma stole three million, and if it’s true, why didn’t the victim report it?

Three million isn’t a small amount.

A normal person wouldn’t just overlook losing three million.

Even for losing 300 bucks, they’d report it to the police.

Of course, there are those who don’t report it.

Three years ago, the Tianshan District Criminal Investigation Team of Haizhou City cracked a theft case.

It wasn’t a big case, involving only 30,000 yuan.

The suspect left fingerprints at the scene, so the police quickly identified him.

After the team members from that criminal investigation team caught the suspect, they searched his residence.

They found 500,000 yuan in cash under the bed.

Finding 500,000 yuan at a thief’s house, no doubt about where it came from.

But at the time, there were no reports citywide for such amounts.

Losing 500,000 without anyone reporting it, only for it to be found by police at a thief’s house.

What was going on?

After a sudden interrogation, the suspect quickly confessed.

The money was stolen.

Besides cash, there were gold bars, diamond rings, and other items.

As it turned out, it was stolen from the home of a leader from a department in the High-tech Zone.

When the police questioned the person, they refused to admit they lost money or items.

But the thief firmly insisted the items were stolen from their house.

What happened next was simple.

The disciplinary department got involved.

Soon, the person was arrested.

So, when money is lost without being reported, it’s usually because of its questionable origin.

That’s why they don’t dare to report it.

South Suburb.

"This is where Er Ma used to live."

Lu Chuan brought Sun Biao over this time to investigate.

In theft cases, Sun Biao’s Third Team handled a good number.

Sun Biao was quite familiar with these habitual criminals.

The so-called South Suburb was just an old name.

In recent years, Haizhou City developed rapidly, expanding quickly.

The South Suburb area was merged into the developing area, namely the High-tech Zone, seven or eight years ago.

It’s now under the jurisdiction of the High-tech Zone Criminal Investigation Team.

The building in front of Lu Chuan was an old two-story building.

This area was a village-in-the-city, originally a suburban rural area.

According to Sun Biao, Er Ma’s parents lived here.

In his 40s, he never married, living with his parents here.

"Ask around the area."

"Alright."

Lu Chuan didn’t go directly to Er Ma’s home; instead, he started by checking Er Ma’s recent activities from the surroundings.

"Er Ma? He made it big, recently made a fortune, bought an apartment, and got married."

An old bald man chuckled, while an elderly woman next to him disagreed, "Made it big, maybe stolen from somewhere."

"Alright, stop talking nonsense; the police are asking."

"Nonsense, if his money was legit, would the police be here asking?"

The old man paused, speechless.

Half an hour later, a few of them regrouped.

"How’s it going?"

Lu Chuan inquired.

"This time, Third Zhang wasn’t lying; Er Ma did indeed buy an apartment and got married in the city."

Sun Biao said.

"I got similar information here. Er Ma’s parents live here. He moved out before the New Year and came back during the holiday with his wife. Many people saw them."

"Some say he’s turned over a new leaf, gotten into business."

"Others say his money is stolen; a leopard can’t change its spots."

The neighbors living around here are mostly elderly, traditionally locals.

So, many are familiar with Er Ma and know about his situation.

What’s more, police coming to investigate Er Ma isn’t a first or second time occurrence.

Initially, some might have been unwilling to share information about Er Ma.

But over the years, after Er Ma got caught numerous times, now whenever the police inquire, everyone shares what they know.

As things stand, they can’t quite figure out how Er Ma’s money came about.

But at least Third Zhang’s information is fundamentally accurate.

Er Ma suddenly came into money, bought a house, got married, supposedly turned good, and is on the right path now.

"Captain Lu, should we summon him now?"