Animal Detective

Chapter 281 - 240: Catching the Thief, Seizing the Goods (2)

So, Shen Xin didn’t present the video evidence.

Zhou Wenyang raised an eyebrow and asked curiously what else was going on.

Shen Xin didn’t elaborate, just telling him to try mediating first.

"Just try to mediate first. Besides, the girl might not even agree to it."

If the girl didn’t agree to mediation, then the matter wasn’t over. They could step in and open a formal investigation at any time.

Zhou Wenyang understood and turned to go back inside.

Shen Xin stepped to the side and first called Hu Guangyu, asking if he’d heard about anyone filing a report accusing Chen Fang of fraud.

Hu Guangyu was probably out on a call. It was incredibly noisy in the background; it sounded like travelers arguing.

He moved away from the noise before saying he’d told his chief but hadn’t heard anything back yet.

Finally, he asked Shen Xin what was up. The two had just seen each other that morning; it hadn’t been long.

"Nothing much."

Shen Xin didn’t press him. They exchanged a few pleasantries, and he hung up.

After a moment of thought, Shen Xin called Chen Chao.

Although he had discovered this case, the principle of territorial jurisdiction was fundamental.

It was like if Shen Xin caught a thief in another district; he would have to hand the suspect over to the local branch for investigation and processing.

The current situation was rather complicated.

If Chen Fang was involved in something, the New District Branch should be the one to open a case and handle the investigation.

Meanwhile, Zhang Fan was discovered in Donglin.

Donglin was a county-level city, and it had its own proper Donglin City Bureau. Nominally, it was a direct subordinate unit of the Nanjiang City Bureau, but this relationship was a bit more complex than the one between Tingyang and the New District.

On top of that, Zhang Fan himself was from Yanling.

So, the matter was quite troublesome. Shen Xin wanted to discuss with Chen Chao how to handle it first.

Chen Chao listened carefully to Shen Xin’s explanation, thought for a moment, and asked, "Xiaoshen, how big do you think this case is?"

Shen Xin understood his meaning.

First, they definitely couldn’t overstep their authority. An officer from Tingyang couldn’t just run over to the New District and open an investigation.

How would the districts get along with each other after that?

But when Chen Chao asked if the case was big, he meant that if it wasn’t a major case, they might as well just hand it over to the New District for investigation.

If it was a relatively big deal, a major case, then he would find a way to coordinate things, or at least arrange for a joint investigation.

He could justify getting involved if it was a major case.

If not, then they should just trust their colleagues in the other district.

Shen Xin also thought for a moment, then said, "Captain Chen, I don’t think this is a small matter. Just think about it. According to Li Dian, Chen Fang was able to buy a house worth over three million, all in cash. She must have earned a lot."

"How many rescue operations would she have had to organize? How many people would have been deceived in the process? Based on that alone, this case can’t be small."

It was basically a case of mass fraud.

’I generously donated money to help stray animals, only for it all to end up in your pocket.’ Once the victims find out the truth, they definitely won’t stand for it.

Chen Chao said, "Alright, wait for my call."

Sure enough, the young woman named Sun Huixia refused to mediate. She was convinced that her dog had been stolen by Zhang Fan.

She wanted an explanation.

Then, to make matters even more inconvenient, she lived in Xinbei District.

So if the Lankou side wanted to open a formal investigation, for instance, to check the surveillance footage from her residential complex, they would have to notify their colleagues in Xinbei District.

Zhang Fan, however, adamantly denied everything.

Nothing was found in his car. There was no catchpole, the kind used specifically for nabbing dogs.

While out eating with Li Jiahui, Shen Xin had also searched online for videos and reports about dog theft.

Some used a catchpole. They’d drive up, stop the car, take aim, and nab the dog, pulling it directly into the vehicle. The whole thing took a few seconds at most.

Others used clubs to knock the dog out with a single blow before carrying it into the car.

The more ruthless ones used poison or even shot them with crossbows.

These were probably people who stole dogs to sell for meat.

But in the city, plenty of pet dogs went missing too.

To put it bluntly, it was a similar type of crime to the purse-snatching of the past.

That’s why Shen Xin felt that even if the officers from Lankou went to investigate Sun Huixia’s residential complex, it would be very difficult to find anything.

The thieves could use fake license plates, and to avoid being caught on camera, they could wear hats and masks to cover their faces.

Besides, in some cases, the pet dogs ran off on their own first before being targeted.

Shen Xin put down his chopsticks, picked his teeth with a toothpick, and then said, "To be honest, back when I was a kid in the countryside, every household had a watchdog. Dog theft was common back then."

"But nowadays, with surveillance cameras everywhere, don’t you think the risk of stealing dogs is a bit too high?"

It’s theft, an illegal act.

So there’s a fundamental question of risk versus reward.

You’re risking jail time—less than three years, or even more—just to steal a few mutts and sell them for a few hundred yuan each. The risk and reward don’t match up at all.

"And what’s the point of stealing pet dogs? Small dogs like Teddies don’t have much meat on them. They probably wouldn’t sell for a high price, right?"

"If you’re going to steal, you’d have to steal medium or large-sized dogs. But for one, those dogs aren’t cheap, and for another, because they’re large, their owners watch them more closely, afraid they might hurt someone. Doesn’t that make the risk of stealing them even greater?"

If you’re already risking prison, why not do something with a higher payoff?

Li Jiahui put down her chopsticks and thought for a moment. "You think the reward is low, but maybe they have other ways of making money. Otherwise, why would Chen Fang be so keen on running a rescue shelter?"

Shen Xin nodded.

’That’s right. There must be another profit method I don’t know about.’

The situation with Zhang Fan hadn’t been sorted out yet, so he probably wouldn’t be leaving the police station anytime soon.

So, Shen Xin decided to stick to his original plan and head to the rescue shelter in Lankou first.