My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 114

“On top of that, the police said they couldn’t do much, which means it’s beyond their investigative scope. The only incident that comes to mind is the food contamination threat.”

Kim Seong-han frowned and gestured for him to sit down.

“You’re better than those blockhead cops.”

“Don’t be too hard on them. The police just don’t know how to handle these kinds of cases. It’s not a common occurrence, is it?”

“So, we’re going to die. But you really figured it out just from that?”

Food contamination threats. It’s one of those incidents that happens from time to time. Modern food consumption relies on mass production and mass consumption. Naturally, everything is distributed through supermarkets.

In the midst of that, someone threatens to have put poison in the products.

This is a serious problem because if the rumor spreads, the company’s product sales plummet drastically.

If a blackmailer reveals to the media that poison was found in a certain product, who would buy it?

Of course, no one would. In this day and age, there are plenty of alternatives, so there’s no reason to take the risk.

“You can tell by the security. Food contamination threats are all about security. If it leaks, it causes irreparable damage.”

Even if the culprit is caught, it takes a long time for the image to recover, so the plummeting sales don’t bounce back immediately.

“There are hardly any such cases in Korea.”

Naturally, the police don’t know how to respond to such situations or how to catch the culprit.

“Moreover, Korean profilers probably wouldn’t know about this either.”

Because it hardly ever happens in Korea. Other profilers who are mainly trained in violent crimes are bound to be less skilled in this area.

“What? A profiler who doesn’t even know that?”

“Profiling is basically statistics.”

“Statistics?”

“Did you think profiling was some kind of shamanistic practice?”

Classifying the tendencies and types of people—specifically, criminals—and scientifically verifying them to predict possibilities. That’s profiling.

“For example, if the victim of a rape in the United States is a white woman, the perpetrator is often a white man.”

People are more likely to feel sexual attraction to the same race than to a different one.

“But at the same time, that profile can’t be used in Korea.”

“Why?”

“Because most people in Korea are of East Asian descent.”

The racial composition ratio is completely different, so you can’t apply that profile as is.

“It’s the same with this case.”

There have been similar cases in the United States, so there is some classification and analysis of criminals, but there’s almost none in Korea.

“Judging by the situation, it seems the poison has already been injected.”

Kim Seong-han’s eyebrows twitched at those words.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’m just saying that if it weren’t the case, someone of the chairman’s stature wouldn’t be so agitated.”

“This is like watching Sherlock Holmes.”

“Sherlock Holmes can also be seen as a profiler.”

Park Do-joon nodded. Deduction isn’t just the domain of profilers.

“In fact, investigators with a lot of experience sometimes profile without realizing it. They just can’t articulate it.”

“Is that so?”

“The saying in the investigation field that criminals return to the scene isn’t just something that came out of nowhere. It comes from long experience.”

“Hmm.”

“So, didn’t I say I was a trustworthy friend? We can’t just keep putting things off with words like ‘I’ll do my best,’ can we?”

“That’s right.”

Kim Seong-han nodded at Bae Deok-gi’s words. The situation was more serious than he thought, and if this leaked, it could seriously damage the Samhan Group.

“What exactly is the situation?”

“As you said, poison has been found.”

“Where?”

“In four places.”

“Four places? What products?”

“That’s the problem. They’re all different.”

“What?”

“They’re all different.”

The factories where they were made, the products themselves, and even the locations where they were found are all different. Two were found inside snack bags, one in a bakery, and another in frozen food.

“Of course, the factories, manufacturing methods, and distribution processes are all different.”

There’s no overlap. Nevertheless, poison was found in all four places.

“Hmm….”

Park Do-joon rubbed his chin at those words. This was a more serious problem than he thought. Not just one place, but four.

“What kind of poison was found?”

“I heard it’s a sleep aid that’s commonly available.”

“A sleep aid?”

“Yeah. They sell it at pharmacies.”

“I know.”

Of course, you don’t die from eating it. It’s a drug that’s sold over the counter at pharmacies, and you won’t die even if you take about ten pills. Of course, you might sleep like a log for a day.

“The important thing is that they were exposed to poison by some route, and we can’t identify it.”

“That’s the problem.”

“It’s a threat, but it’s effective.”

It’s a very effective threat. What if they really put poison in it? If it was sold before it could be recovered, someone might have died. Then the fact would be revealed regardless of whether it was a threat, and there would be no point in trying to get money.

Because the rumor of the poison being spread would already be out.

On the other hand, if they just make a simple threat? That’s just nonsense. Surprisingly, there are often guys who make threats like that.

However, in most cases, they are immediately arrested. And in the first place, the only way such guys can access food is by secretly placing it on the shelves, but these days, there are mostly CCTVs [closed-circuit televisions], so they can’t avoid getting caught.

“Four places….”

But they put sleeping pills in food in four places and didn’t get caught.

Even if someone accidentally ate it, they would probably just think they were tired. So, it’s easy to handle the situation quietly.

“These days, this kind of crime has almost disappeared. It’s unusual.”

“Disappeared?”

“Yes.”

“You said it happens from time to time?”

“Yes, it’s not that it never happens. But it’s not that we can’t catch them. Times have changed.”

It’s not like the old days when they produced something, put it in a box, left it on display, and neglected it.

Now, when something is produced, a barcode is assigned, and the entire distribution process from the producer can be traced with that barcode.

“In fact, in the United States, if this kind of food contamination threat occurs, they immediately start searching the barcode.”

If you investigate it properly, you can find out where, when, and who produced it.

For example, if B factory products are suddenly found among items produced at A factory, there is a high possibility that it is a poison-contaminated product.

“So, this method has disappeared a lot these days. Of course, it’s not that the guys who do it have disappeared.”

Park Do-joon considered the fact that there were four places and offered one possibility.

“The culprit is probably multiple people. And they each know the distribution process well.”

“I’ve already looked into it. But it seems there are no peculiarities, even though the police are investigating.”

Kim Seong-han frowned and said.

“That’s probably the case. This barcode tracking system is better than you think.”

From the factory to the moment it reaches the consumer’s hands, how many people’s hands does it pass through? Thousands? Hundreds? No. In modern times, it doesn’t pass through that many people’s hands.

“Once production is finished, it’s loaded onto a vehicle, then distributed, and then sent to each branch.”

In that process, the number of people who can access the item is surprisingly only a few dozen.

“No matter how incompetent the police are, they can’t fail to track that much. In fact, they’re probably tracking it.”

The fact that they were also troubled means that there are no suspicious points.

“You’re saying it’s not suspicious?”

“It’s not that, it’s that this is a threat. So, it’s impossible to track.”

“What are you talking about?”

“At the time the threat was made, they had already accessed it, even if it wasn’t obvious.”

In other words, the problem is that in order for this threat to proceed properly, poison must be put into the food, but it’s impossible for the police to monitor the people who have the opportunity to do so until the event takes place.

“It’s easier to track down the criminal after the incident has occurred. If someone dies and the media talks about it, the criminal is more likely to feel intimidated or act strangely.”

But this isn’t the case. It hasn’t been revealed in the first place, and the drug that was administered is a weak sleep aid that can’t be traced.

It’s a drug that doesn’t cause any pangs of conscience, even if someone eats it and just sleeps a little.

“So, it’s impossible to track any signs of abnormality right now.”

However, if they investigate by saying, ‘This happened, did you do it?’ the food contamination threat will leak out somewhere, and the Samhan Group will suffer a serious blow.

“It’s not that they’re incompetent, it’s that there’s no way to track it.”

“Hmm.”

“Moreover, it’s even more so in the case of multiple criminals like now.”

“Multiple?”

“Yes, in my opinion, it’s probably a large group. Otherwise, there’s no way to access completely different distribution lines.”

Snacks are one thing, but ice cream and confectionery have completely separate distribution processes. Therefore, this situation is impossible unless there are multiple people involved.

“How did they ask for the money?”

“They asked for it in Bitcoin.”

“Then the culprit is probably a young person.”

“What? Why?”

“It’s a difference in funding preference.”

“Difference in preference?”

“Yes, Bitcoin is not a familiar asset to older people.”

Bae Deok-gi tilted his head at those words.

“Isn’t Bitcoin a famous asset? Why isn’t it a familiar asset? A lot of older people do it.”

Park Do-joon smiled at those words. Well, people do make this mistake.

“I know. In fact, it doesn’t make sense if you don’t know Bitcoin in this day and age. But knowing the name doesn’t mean you can use it.”

“I don’t understand?”

“Bitcoin is basically for speculation. That’s why it’s a problem.”

“Explain it to me easily.”

“Everyone knows about Bitcoin. But do you know where you can use it?”

“That’s… uh?”

When I think about it, Bitcoin is famous, but I don’t know about the distribution lines where I can distribute it or the consumption lines where I can consume it.

That’s because there are hardly any spaces to consume it.

“Bitcoin is attracting attention as an investment asset, but there are no ways to consume it.”

There are considerable restrictions on buying food, land, a house, or doing something else with it.