One second ago, the private room was bustling with activity.
Everyone was discussing plans to team up tomorrow for some bank promotion hunting.
But in the next moment, an unusual silence fell over the room, and no one mentioned the bank promotion anymore.
Because this wasn't just about hunting for promotions - if they had gone through with it, they would have been the ones getting fleeced. That bank on Huaihai Road... it was fake!
Sure, depositing 100,000 yuan would get you a phone, but that money would go straight into someone else's pocket. It was like paying 100,000 yuan for a phone worth only 4,000-5,000, and people were still excited about it.
Checking the time, Li Yunfei spoke up.
"We've got just over half an hour until shift change. Let's handle this case ourselves instead of troubling the day shift."
"Agreed!" The officer who had been scammed alongside Li Yunfei was the first to nod.
Looking at the handcuffed man, he had only one thought: "Damn you! Give me my money back!"
He was more than happy to personally bring justice to the guy who had scammed him out of his hard-earned money.
Li Yunfei glanced at Xu Mo and Chen Ke: "Want to join? This case is straightforward - we've already caught the mastermind, and the follow-up shouldn't be complicated."
Li Yunfei asked this mainly because Chen Ke had been hinting several times today that he could help with cases. Chen Ke was just too bored! He'd rather investigate cases with local police than lie in a hospital bed all day smelling disinfectant.
So predictably, Chen Ke immediately nodded when Li Yunfei extended the invitation: "Sure!"
Xu Mo nodded as well: "I'm in."
He was genuinely curious about what this fake bank on Huaihai Road looked like, considering it had fooled even police officers.
And not just one officer, but two!
Could that bank really be that convincing?
"Let's go then. I'll settle the bill, you guys wait for me in the parking lot. Keep an eye on him, don't let him escape," Li Yunfei said, handing the handcuffed Brother Hai to his colleague.
After paying the bill, everyone regrouped in the parking lot.
Just like before, Xu Mo and Chen Ke got into Li Yunfei's car.
The other officers took two different cars, taking the two arrested men with them.
Halfway there, they stopped at the police station to drop off the thinner suspect. They briefly explained the situation to the officer on duty, asking them to give the man a verbal warning, before continuing to Huaihai Road with the mastermind, Brother Hai.
On Huaihai Road.
Inside a half-closed ICBC branch, employees were still busy counting and bundling money.
Three cars pulled up in succession outside the fake bank, and the group escorted their suspect out.
After getting out, Xu Mo examined the fake bank's facade. He had to admit, the forgery was incredibly convincing! At least from the outside, it looked identical to a real ICBC branch - no wonder people fell for the scam.
Chen Ke also looked up at the bank: "This really looks legitimate, exactly like the real thing. No wonder you two got fooled."
Li Yunfei: ...
Well said, please don't mention it again.
It was just past closing time, and the bank's security grille was only halfway down. Though they weren't handling any more business, they could still enter.
Li Yunfei led the way, ducking under the half-lowered grille to enter the bank.
"If you want to make a deposit, please come back tomorrow. We're closed for today," an employee immediately called out when they saw people entering.
However, the group at the door ignored his words and kept coming in one after another, their eyes scanning the premises as they curiously examined everything inside the bank.
Seeing so many people, the bank employee became nervous, wondering if this was going to be a robbery.
"What are you doing? Get out! I'll call the police if you try anything!"
The next moment, everyone pulled out their police badges.
"We are the police."
"Oh? Officers, why are you here at our bank?" As the employee spoke, he noticed their manager - Brother Hai.
The manager was currently in handcuffs.
"Manager Wang? What's..."
"Impressive," Xu Mo looked around, remarking in surprise: "It's an exact one-to-one replica. No wonder they could scam people - they really put in the effort."
"Now I understand why you two got scammed. The interior design is identical to a real bank - it's impossible to tell the difference!" Chen Ke also wore an expression of amazement.
It was clear why this fake bank had succeeded in scamming people - it was just too convincing!
So much so that among all the police officers present, not one could spot any differences in the decoration or details between this fake bank and a real one.
If they hadn't known beforehand, who could have guessed this was a fake bank!?
The bank employee's mind was spinning trying to process all this, completely confused.
What scam? What forgery? He couldn't understand a word of what these officers were saying.
Li Yunfei turned to Brother Hai: "Is all the scammed money still here in the bank?"
Brother Hai shook his head.
"No, we only keep the money here overnight. Early the next morning, I have an armored vehicle come to collect it."
"An armored vehicle too? I suppose that's fake as well?"
Brother Hai looked guilty: "Yes... I rented a vehicle and modified it to look like an armored car."
"So you only have today's collections here? Where's the money from the previous days - at your home?" Li Yunfei continued questioning.
"No," Brother Hai shook his head. "I deposited all that money in a real bank, but it's not in my account anymore. I was worried about the money being traceable, so I found people to launder it. They haven't finished yet - the cleaned money will be transferred to my card from overseas accounts tomorrow morning."
Well, well - money laundering?
The officers immediately perked up - this was turning out to be quite the catch!
They hadn't just caught someone running a fake bank fraud, they might also uncover a money laundering operation!
This was an unexpected bonus - killing two birds with one stone!