The crackdown on organized crime began with the arrest of the mother-in-law.

Chapter 840 The Head in the Trash Can

Qin Chuan has truly experienced the frequent occurrence of criminal cases in Dongchuan City. In less than a month since he joined the Dongchuan City Public Security Bureau, he has already received three major criminal cases.

In fact, in recent years, whether it's the progress of the anti-organized crime campaign, the advancement of the rule of law, or the improvement of social civilization, the overall criminal case rate in society has remained relatively low. In most large cities, there might not even be one serious criminal case in a year.

In some places, it may be 8 to 10 years before a major homicide occurs.

However, in Dongchuan City, three such cases in a month are quite common. Qingchun understood why she had been sent to Dongchuan City by God. The province-wide campaign against organized crime has progressed remarkably well in the past two years. Since Lin Zhenguo was promoted from governor to provincial party secretary, the previously planned and deployed campaign against organized crime has been implemented even more forcefully.

Especially in some major cities, such as provincial capitals and several economically strong cities, the efforts to promote this work are quite significant.

However, while the crackdown on organized crime has dismantled some criminal gangs and eliminated some criminal elements that preyed on the people, reducing the number of criminal cases, not all of the cases occurring in Dongchuan City are actually caused by organized crime.

These criminal cases may have been caused by family disputes, neighborhood disputes, or other conflicts of interest. Therefore, the situation in Dongchuan City cannot be simply attributed to criminal cases caused by social forces. It is also related to the local customs and traditions.

The following week was relatively stable. There weren't any major issues at the Public Security Bureau, so Qin Chuan went to various grassroots units to investigate and understand the situation. Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Division focused on organizing case files and archiving materials. After a few more days of this work, the cases could be transferred to the next department.

Less than two weeks after the successful conclusion of the previous case, Qin Chuan had thoroughly investigated the entire Dongchuan City Public Security Bureau, leaving his mark on every police station and branch office, gaining a deeper understanding of the city's security situation. He had hoped to take a short break and further refine his experience, but a major criminal case shattered the peace like a thunderbolt.

Qin Chuan was reviewing a report on optimizing police deployment in his office when his phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw it was a call from the Criminal Investigation Division. "Hello, this is Qin Chuan."

"Director Qin, there's a case. A scavenger found a black plastic bag containing a male head while rummaging through a trash can." Li Ming's voice was urgent and serious on the other end of the phone.

"What?" Qin Chuan stood up abruptly, slamming his pen on the table. "I'm coming right away. What's the situation?"

"We arrived at the scene immediately, set up a cordon, and evacuated the onlookers. A preliminary investigation is underway in the surrounding area, and the forensic doctor is on his way," Li Ming quickly reported.

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as possible. You guys protect the scene first, don't overlook any clues." Qin Chuan hung up the phone, quickly put on his coat, grabbed his car keys, and strode out of the office.

Upon arriving at the scene, Qin Chuan frowned and looked around gravely. A conspicuous cordon had already been set up, and officers were working diligently at their posts. Xiao Wang, the technical expert in charge of the on-site investigation, hurriedly approached Qin Chuan, carrying a multi-band light source device.

"Director Qin, the situation on site is tricky. There's frequent footsteps and fingerprints around the trash cans. We've started a comprehensive collection, and so far we've collected at least fifteen different fingerprints on the surface of the trash cans, and we've also found a lot of overlapping footprints around the bushes." Xiao Wang spoke very quickly, showing the fingerprint scanner in his hand as he spoke. "This instrument uses advanced capacitive sensing technology, which can accurately capture fingerprint details, convert the collected fingerprints into high-resolution digital images, and transmit them to the system for analysis and comparison."

Xiao Wang operates the instrument, inputting the newly acquired fingerprint image into the Automated Fingerprint Identification System (AFIS). "The system will extract and analyze the fingerprint pattern, core points, triangulation points, and hundreds of detailed feature points, and quickly compare them with millions of fingerprint records in the database. However, this is a huge workload and takes some time."

Footprint expert Lao Zhang was squatting by the grass, holding a high-precision 3D laser scanner, intently scanning the footprints on the ground. Seeing Qin Chuan approach, Lao Zhang straightened up, adjusted his reading glasses, and said, “Director Qin, these footprints are too messy. However, preliminary analysis has revealed a set of relatively recent footprints with wide stride spacing and forward-leaning weight distribution. We estimate the suspect to be around 178 centimeters tall and weighing about 80 kilograms, walking hurriedly, making him highly likely the murderer. This 3D laser scanner can construct precise 3D models of footprints, analyzing shoe sole patterns and wear characteristics in minute detail, facilitating comparison with shoe print samples in the database.”

Time passed quietly as the technicians stared intently at the computer screen, awaiting the comparison results. Suddenly, a system notification sounded, and Xiao Wang excitedly shouted, "Director Qin, the results are in! Five sets of fingerprints match in the database. One person has a prior theft conviction, two are employees of nearby businesses, and two are residents of the surrounding neighborhoods."

After a moment's thought, Qin Chuan decisively ordered: "Immediately launch an investigation into these five individuals. Li Ming, arrange for personnel to work in groups, question them in detail about their whereabouts before and after the incident, and collect alibis. At the same time, visit surrounding businesses and residents of the community to expand the scope of the investigation, paying particular attention to suspicious individuals who appeared near the scene during the time of the incident."

The officers acted swiftly. Li and Zhao, responsible for investigating fingerprint matching, were the first to arrive at Zhao's home, who had a prior theft conviction. A flicker of panic crossed Zhao's eyes as he opened the door.

“Zhao, we found your fingerprints at the crime scene. What were you doing at the time of the incident?” Xiao Li asked sharply and directly.

Zhao swallowed hard and stammered, "Officer, I... I just passed by there a few days ago and threw away a beverage bottle. It might have hit the trash can."

"Which day exactly? What time?" Xiao Zhao pressed.

After a moment of recollection, Zhao said, "It must have been around 6 p.m. the day before yesterday. I was on my way home from get off work and just threw it away."

Xiao Li and Xiao Zhao exchanged a glance and decided to verify Zhao's statement. They checked Zhao's company's clock-out records and visited the surrounding surveillance coverage area. They found that Zhao did indeed pass by the scene at the time he said, and did not linger unusually, so his suspicion was basically ruled out.