My Calling Is Profiler [EN]: Chapter 413

“Since you’ve experienced it, you know. It’s the same this time.”

Even if we seize hundreds of kilograms of drugs, it only amounts to a significant achievement on paper. The real problem is that Vanilla, the one importing them, remains untouched, allowing them to continue bringing in more.

‘Moreover, the problem is that it’s impossible the Korean government caught them through voluntary enforcement.’

Korea hasn’t been inspecting ship ballasts [compartments in a ship’s hull used to stabilize it]. Could they have checked it by chance? Singling out that specific ship? That’s unlikely.

It requires all sorts of complicated procedures and securing safety equipment. In other words, they didn’t find it by chance but because they received information and raided the ship.

‘The information must have come from the U.S.’

It happens sometimes. In the case of major crimes, other countries provide information to help with the crackdown.

When it’s too late to crack down within their own country.

The problem in such cases is that they often don’t crack down properly even when they know. In this case, they knew about smuggling using ballasts but generally don’t conduct a full investigation due to various reasons… such as the inconvenience of enforcement or budget issues, and only search suspicious ships.

“Hmm, so unless we solve the root cause, nothing really changes.”

“That’s right.”

Unless we catch the importers, eradicating drugs is impossible.

“So, the best thing to do is to catch those guys first and then become Vanilla ourselves.”

In the short term, it certainly won’t produce results worthy of media attention, but in the long term, it’s possible to collapse the entire drug supply chain.

“Hoo~ I understand. I’ll try to persuade them.”

Ju Gwang-won frowned, thinking it wouldn’t be easy.

Identifying Bae Jang-won’s information wasn’t difficult. Because workers at the port can’t just enter with fake resident registration numbers. Naturally, an investigation was conducted, and identifying Bae Jang-won wasn’t difficult.

And Bae Jang-won’s specialty was exactly as Park Do-joon had predicted.

“A scuba diving license?”

“It’s not just a scuba diving license.”

Park Do-joon frowned and said.

“It’s an underwater welding certification.”

“Is that different?”

“Yes.”

Getting a scuba diving license is easier than you think. Because scuba diving is basically a hobby, and most of the seas where people engage in such hobbies are bright and clear coastal areas.

“But underwater work is very harsh, unlike those tourist spots.”

To do underwater work, the water is constantly vibrating, causing silt to rise. So the water is very dark, and it’s often hard to see even an inch ahead. In such cases, the worker has to rely solely on their senses.

“So, they’re incredibly expensive and it’s hard and grueling work.”

Of course, they pay a lot, but it’s dangerous and not something you can do for long.

“Dark water where you can’t see an inch. It’s a perfect method for ballasts.”

“That’s right.”

Park Do-joon nodded at the words. The ballast in the ship must be in that condition. Darkness without a single ray of light. Of course, even with an underwater flashlight, the fear that comes from that deep darkness causes people more fear than you think.

“Can’t other people do it?”

“They probably can, but it won’t be easy.”

“Why?”

“Because they’ll panic.”

You have to work alone inside a ballast where there is only darkness. If the darkness causes fear, panic sets in, and breathing becomes rapid. This phenomenon causes nitrogen in the tank to be absorbed quickly, leading to decompression sickness [a condition caused by rapid changes in pressure]. Decompression sickness impairs a person’s sense of direction and physical activity.

“In fact, many people drown due to hallucinations and loss of direction when they get decompression sickness.”

They struggle to escape from the water, but in reality, they often go further down due to hallucinations.

“That’s why it’s always 2-person teams in the water.”

That way, even if one person shows signs of abnormality, the other person can recognize and respond to the signs.

“But is it possible to go into a ballast full of darkness alone? It’s not a question of whether you can dive, but whether you can overcome the fear and dread afterward.”

“But if it’s a 2-person team, shouldn’t there be one more person?”

“Have you seen Korean companies follow the law?”

In Korea, they clearly don’t follow the existing regulations. It’s the same with underwater workers. It’s clearly a rule to have 2-person teams, but they often use only one person to save money, regardless of whether an accident occurs and they die.

“You’re not working together?”

“It’s difficult.”

Working together is only possible when you are within each other’s recognition distance. But if you are in water where recognition itself is impossible, you can’t see someone even if they are 3 meters in front of you.

The problem is that the 2-person team regulation requires people to be within each other’s line of sight. In other words, in most cases, even if two people enter, they are effectively one person if they work separately.

“So, you’re saying he’s someone who’s used to that situation.”

“Yes.”

Bae Jang-won is probably used to that situation, and even so, the ballast, which has no current and a limited space compared to the relatively current-filled sea, is nothing to him.

If it’s really an emergency, he can just go straight up.

“So, if we catch this guy, all the previous problems will be solved.”

Ju Gwang-won’s face brightened. He never thought it would be possible to track them down in this way. In most cases, drug investigations only target the consumers who use the drugs, and they don’t touch the suppliers, especially the top-level suppliers.

Moreover, if that guy is Vanilla, the Korean drug world will be shaken.

“Of course, that’s what would happen if we investigated immediately.”

“Is there another problem?”

“There is another problem. The higher-ups will probably tell us to keep it quiet.”

“Yes? Why?”

“Because of performance.”

“Performance?”

“Yes, if you can’t get through to them, be firm. Tell them that if they don’t start the investigation immediately, I’ll leak it to the media that the drug group is being protected from within the police to obstruct the investigation.”

Ju Gwang-won swallowed hard at those words.

“Are you serious?”

“I have no reason to lie. I already know what the higher-ups will say anyway.”

If I just throw out a bluff like this, it will only benefit the drug organization.

“I’ll try to persuade them as much as possible… I will threaten them.”

Ju Gwang-won could only smile bitterly at those words.

And the result didn’t take long. Two days later, Ju Gwang-won came to Park Do-joon with a completely defeated look.

“You’ve withered away in just two days.”

“They told me to just cover it up, just like you said.”

“Right?”

“Yes, but why?”

“Because they want to catch the drugs.”

“But we’re the ones running around to catch them, aren’t we?”

“No, no. What we want to catch isn’t drugs, but drug offenders. The higher-ups want to catch drugs, not drug suppliers.”

Lee Ji-soo looked at Park Do-joon with a puzzled expression because she didn’t understand. It must seem like the same thing to her. But the problem was that they weren’t the same thing.

“Investigating Bae Jang-won isn’t difficult. But getting Bae Jang-won to talk is a completely different matter.”

“Yes?”

“If we don’t catch him in the act, we can’t punish Bae Jang-won. And the biggest problem for the higher-ups is that it won’t result in any achievements.”

Let’s say Bae Jang-won was somehow caught. Since there’s no evidence that he brought the drugs, we can’t pin the crime on him. If we’re lucky, Bae Jang-won is a drug addict, and we can punish him for that.

“So, realistically, the higher-ups’ decision is simple. Let’s wait until the ship comes in.”

The drugs coming in through the ballast won’t be at the level of 10 or 20 kilograms, and if we raid the scene, we can prove Bae Jang-won’s crime and seize at least hundreds of kilograms of drugs at the same time.

From the perspective of the higher-ups who want achievements, it will seem like a very good opportunity.

“But realistically, the chances of that succeeding aren’t high.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re monitoring the office.”

It’s only natural that they’re raising their alert level in a situation where we’re monitoring the office. Moreover, those ships are overseas ships. A warrant is required to search them.

“They probably won’t bring the goods because they’re on alert.”

And there’s no guarantee that those ships will bring drugs every time they come.

“Moreover, how do we even know when that ship will come?”

Cargo ships don’t know where they’re going after receiving the goods. Who knows if they’ll take the goods they received from the U.S. to Europe, South America, or Africa?

“So, we have to wait during that time, but how much damage will be done during that time?”

Ju Gwang-won nodded as if he agreed with those words. Even he thought that waiting indefinitely in a situation where he didn’t know when it would come would only increase the damage from drugs.

“But even if we catch Bae Jang-won now, it will be as you said, right?”

Bae Jang-won won’t talk, and since there’s no evidence, we won’t be able to conduct a proper investigation. In the end, there’s a high possibility that we’ll just end up catching a petty criminal.

“That’s true if the rumors don’t spread.”

“If the rumors don’t spread?”

“Yes, but if the rumors spread, the Vanilla guys will react. They have no choice. They’ll think we’ve found their drug import line.”

Lee Ji-soo thought for a moment and then asked. No matter how much she thought about it, she couldn’t predict how they would react.

“Detective, what changes if we leak this information?”

“It’s simple. They have no choice but to move.”

“They have no choice but to move?”

“Think about it. If they think we’ve found the supply line, what will they try to do first?”

“Ah!”

They’ll try to protect the remaining drugs at all costs. That way, they can hold out while they’re being supplied.

“You said there’s a safe there, right?”

“That’s right. There is a safe. But it won’t fit hundreds of kilograms of drugs.”

There’s probably a hidden space outside.

“So, we have to make them move first.”

“But they’ll know we’re watching, right?”

“They’ll move because they know we’re watching. Because we’re watching the office.”

Park Do-joon smiled.

“In fact, what those guys are thinking is almost obvious. Hehehe.”

# You Can’t Run From the Buddha’s Palm

Park Do-joon’s plan was accepted. Some people wanted to wait a little longer and crack down when the ship came in to achieve great results, but Park Do-joon’s words worked because those ships might not come at all, and even if they did, there was a high possibility that they wouldn’t have drugs.

Of course, leaking information wasn’t difficult.

“A crackdown?”

-Yeah, I got a call from the court. They said a warrant has been issued for Bae Jang-won.

At those words, the Vanilla guys’ faces hardened. Bae Jang-won is the only guy who knows how to unload cargo from the ship. He goes on the ship with scuba diving equipment, enters the ballast, and brings it up.