Chapter 1015: Flawless Theft Technique

Due to the large sum involved in the case, right after the crime was reported, we headed straight to the High-tech Zone’s Criminal Investigation Team.

Winter had already begun, and recently, the entire Haizhou City had been experiencing a drop in temperature, reaching below zero degrees Celsius.

However, because the weather had been quite dry lately, the first snow of the season had yet to fall.

When our team suddenly arrived at the crime scene, it was already 1:30 in the afternoon.

“Captain Lu! You’ve finally arrived!”

The person greeting Lu Chuan and his team was a short, slightly overweight middle-aged man.

The North City Police Station Chief quickly spoke up: “Captain Lu, this is Zhang Dabao, the person in charge at the mine.”

Thankful, Zhang Dabao initially stood on the office building’s stairs, and upon seeing Lu Chuan’s police car approaching, he jogged over to Lu Chuan’s side.

“Hello, President Zhang.”

Zhang Dabao smiled wryly and shook his head, “What’s so good about it.”

“Ten million in cash, gone just like that, I… I’m about to hang myself.”

Lu Chuan had already roughly understood the case’s situation while on the road; the North City Police Station was the first to report the case due to its large scale, involving tens of millions, immediately notifying the Criminal Investigation Team.

“Let’s go to the scene first.”

Zhang Dabao quickly nodded, “Yes, yes, to the scene, to the scene.”

The burglary’s crime scene was in a vacant room on the right side of the first floor of the office building.

According to preliminary information, the North City coal mine planned to halt operations for the new year; yesterday, they retrieved 10 million in cash from the bank, which was intended to be distributed to the workers today, but the money was stolen that very night.

“President Zhang, why distribute salaries in cash instead of transferring them directly? Why retrieve cash from the bank?”

Nowadays, very few people distribute salaries in cash; they usually transfer directly to bank accounts. Jin Zhang was puzzled as to why this coal mine still preferred cash to pay the workers.

This inherently poses a security risk for the funds; if the money had been directly transferred from the bank, this situation wouldn’t have occurred.

Zhang Dabao lowered his head, “Actually, our regular salary disbursements are always transferred from the bank; it’s just at year-end we distribute bonuses in cash, wanting to hold a celebration party. These past two years have been profitable for the mine, giving cash feels different compared to direct bank deposits.”

Zhang Dabao has managed this coal mine for ten years; the benefits weren’t great in the first two years, but later with rising coal prices and their technological improvements, worker conditions improved and the mine’s profitability increased.

This coal mine isn’t particularly large, totaling fewer than 300 workers, so the bonus of 10 million averages to more than 30,000 yuan per person year-end.

Moreover, this mine has been issuing year-end bonuses in cash for ten years now, except for the first two years when there were no bonuses due to losses. Cash distribution started later in the years.

But this time, something went wrong.

The North City Police Station had glanced at the crime scene prior; indeed, nothing special about the location, considering the cash was on the first floor, leading to a chaotic flow of people.

Entering the building, it was evident the cleaning was poor, footprints filled the floor with dark stains.

“Have many people come in?”

Turning to look at the corridor’s other side, it seemed that side had fewer footprints.

Zhang Dabao explained, “This morning, we were supposed to have a celebration; at ten, I sent someone to move the money, only to find much was gone. People came to check, later reported to the police, and officers arrived; since we’re in the mine where surfaces have coal dust, it was a mess walking back and forth. We usually manage strictly, and miners don’t come up often.”

However, such conditions made it difficult for Lu Chuan to carry out footprint analysis, or rather, given the current situation, it seemed nearly impossible.

“Violent destruction.”

North City Police Station chief Chen Guo pointed at the lock already pried open on the door.

“We’ve roughly understood the situation; after the cash was retrieved last night, President Zhang had two guards posted for security, both were found unconscious this morning, the money gone, but what we found inside was strange.”

Chen Guo conducted investigative work upon arrival in the morning.

“Firstly, surveillance footage didn’t capture any suspicious personnel entering the office building either last night or during the crime’s timeline.”

Lu Chuan noticed this as well; upon entering, he saw surveillance at the entrance, with only one exit to this building.

This means, if criminals entered through the front door, they would be recorded by the surveillance cameras; however, Chen Guo’s investigation revealed no anomalies in the footage.

“The adjacent room belonged to the coal mine’s finance department, the window equipped with anti-theft bars, and inspection revealed no damage.”

Inside the room were only a metal box and two office desks.

Zhang Dabao continued, “Last night, I had two security guards from the mine to watch over the money; since 10 million is too much, the finance department’s safe couldn’t accommodate it, so we put it in a metal cabinet inside this room.”

The crime scene was heavily disrupted.

The footprints were haphazard; some belonged to those who moved the box yesterday and from people entering after learning the money was gone today.

Moreover, the metal box’s lock was beaten open.

Lu Chuan leaned in to inspect, “Who has the keys to these locks?”

Zhang Dabao replied, “The finance department has the keys; yesterday’s money retrieval was also done by finance. I dropped by yesterday afternoon, plans concerning the money are handled by finance, it’s been the practice every year; who would’ve thought this year something like this would happen.”

“What’s the situation with the two guards?”

Chen Guo said, “The two were found unconscious, likely drugged, not beaten; when we arrived in the morning, they hadn’t awakened, were sent to the hospital, and are still undergoing examination.”

Lu Chuan nodded, continuing to scrutinize the room.

Despite the chaotic footprints, the perpetrator must have left behind some clues while committing the crime.

Also, 10 million isn’t a small sum; how it was transported remains a question. Yes.

Qin Chuan first went to the window to check the burglar bars.

Since surveillance at the front entrance didn’t record them, it’s likely the perpetrator entered through the window.