Chapter 1334 - 1260 Intelligence
Tianjin Port.
Jiang Yuan, accompanied by Mu Zhiyang and others, strolled along the port, where various towering gantry cranes and other unnamed gigantic port equipment loomed ahead.
Wan Quan was accompanying them, enthusiastically introducing, "The throughput of Tianjin Port ranks among the top 10 globally, with an annual capacity of 500 million tons. Last year, the container throughput also exceeded 20 million TEUs. The smuggling characteristics here include automobiles, frozen products, electronic goods, and luxury items. The exports are mainly steel, rare metals, and high-value-added industrial goods, making it a highly specialized trade hub."
Jiang Yuan, unfamiliar with smuggling cases, pondered for a moment and said, "With such a large throughput, is it basically impossible to search a whole ship thoroughly, right?"
"Small ships are easy to inspect. For large ships, even if there’s a spot check, at most you can only check what the crew might be sneaking in. Look over there, that ship unloading should be a 200,000-ton ship, probably around 300 meters in length, unloading iron ore. It can unload about 40,000 tons a day, so unloading 200,000 tons takes 5 days. If it’s grain, it unloads even slower, maybe 30,000 tons a day. But with quantities like 30,000 to 40,000 tons, how could you possibly inspect everything?" Wan Quan casually provided an example, which helped Jiang Yuan understand.
"So you rely on special intelligence and targeted investigations?" Jiang Yuan asked.
"Spot checks are also conducted, mainly to gather leads and act as a deterrent. But actually solving cases requires behind-the-scenes investigation. Sometimes, even when there’s a lead, you can’t find evidence during a spot check. I once handled a frozen goods case where the suspect had modified the refrigerated container. The front third contained normal, legal frozen meat, while the back two-thirds hid smuggled beef, and not just any smuggled beef, but beef from an epidemic area. We spent 24 hours looking with temperature probes, wore ourselves out because you can’t indefinitely hold someone’s goods, especially frozen ones, as there are many deadlines and complications."
Once Wan Quan started talking about smuggling cases, he couldn’t stop: "Just on Brazilian imported goods here, some mix rosewood into ordinary timber, and the wood is soaked in a solution that even dogs can’t sniff out. And with Brazilian soybeans, out of 100,000 tons of GMO soybeans, they sneak in 20,000 tons of unapproved GMO soybeans. For those who can’t identify soybeans, it’s almost impossible to check."
Jiang Yuan couldn’t help but nod, "So, all customs enforcement units need to have personnel and equipment tailored to these situations?"
"Indeed. However, the level of attention each customs enforcement unit gives varies. Just as you see, while Tianjin Port does have their customs bureau setup, it’s hard to say how much effort they can dedicate to the 929 case given their 500 million tons of throughput each year. Even now, asking them to cooperate a bit is extremely difficult." Wan Quan, while cautioning, glanced vigilantly at the left rear.