Diary of a Criminal Investigator

Gao Xiang turned on the projector, the image was very clear.

The armored car entered the surveillance footage at 5:56.

Gao Xiang paused the image and began to explain: "In our world, we have already inquired with the bank staff, the armored car is hired by the headquarters of the commercial bank."

Nowadays, cash transport is actually commercialized, and the armored car doesn’t belong to the bank itself.

An armored car often has the responsibility for the cash transport of two to three branch locations.

"The Northwest Road Branch is the last branch the armored car was transporting cash from, so there was cash from the other two branches on the car."

This is why the robbers managed to grab over 8 million in cash.

The cash was the flow from the three branches on that day, so there’s quite a bit.

Apparently, after the incident happened and before Li Donglin and the others arrived, Gao Xiang had already conducted a lot of investigation.

The video continued playing.

After the armored car parked, three armed security guards got out to secure the area as the bank started the transfer.

Generally, before the armored car arrives, the cash to be transported is already prepared in boxes, so the transfer process is usually quite quick.

Under normal circumstances, without any accidents, the whole process can be completed in just three or four minutes.

After the armored car parked, the security personnel, guns in hand, stood guard, but it was clear from their nerves that they weren’t very tense.

After all, robbing armored cars is something that rarely happens in real life.

The deterrence offered by security personnel usually outweighs their actual impact.

Once the three were ready, the bank door opened, and staff members carrying boxes came out to perform the handover.

The handover was just a signature process; about the cash inside the box, or how much cash there was, the security personnel had no way of knowing.

Just as the handover was happening, three fully armed robbers suddenly barged into the exchange circle.

Two of them had already pressed pistols to the heads of two security personnel.

"Don’t move!"

The voice from the surveillance video was deep and muffled, seemingly unnatural.

Li Donglin looked at Lu Chuan, who nodded affirmatively: "Voice changer."

As a Crime Scene Investigation expert, Lu Chuan could immediately tell if the other party used a voice changer.

Such a device, historically not easy to purchase, is now quite widespread.

For just tens of dollars, you can buy a basic voice changer; spending $100-$200 can get you a more professional one.

Recently, the Criminal Investigation Team cracked a fraud case.

The victim was a man who often played games and claimed he was swindled out of $1000 by another man.

The scamming process was straightforward; the fraudster used a voice changer to speak in a child-like voice, leading the victim to believe the other party was a woman, only to find out later he was deceived.

And such a voice changer only costs about thirty to fifty dollars.

The video continued.

"The money belongs to the bank, your life is your own!"

"Our clothing is entirely bulletproof. You better think carefully, at such close range, who dies faster if you shoot!"

The robber’s words were very frank.

The handover site was extremely cramped, with a distance of less than three meters between the bank door and the cash transport vehicle.

A total of eight people stood there.

Two bank staff members, three cash transport personnel, and three robbers.

The bank staff were dressed in suits, and if a gunfight broke out, these two would definitely be the first to fall.

Though the security guards had bulletproof vests, compared to the robber’s full armor, these only protected vital areas like the chest and abdomen.

In such close proximity, if a gunfight ensued...

The security personnel used shotguns instead of submachine guns or pistols.

These types of guns have tremendous power at close range and cover a wide area.

Security staff are equipped with such guns because they don’t need precise aiming; pulling the trigger essentially guarantees damage.

In this situation, if one of the security personnel fired the shotgun, the robbers might be fine, but the other security and bank staff would definitely get hurt.

"Don’t be impulsive!"

"I know you’re all from the security company, earning less than $5000 a month, don’t risk your life for this!"

The robber’s words were sincere, considering the security and bank personnel’s well-being.

"We only want the money, not to hurt anyone!"

"Understand?"

Understand!

This is easy to understand.

Persuaded by the robbers, the three armed security guards removed their shotguns from themselves and placed them on the ground, everyone lay down, and then the robbers began retrieving the cash boxes from the car.

A total of six boxes.

Three robbers, each taking two, then immediately ran off.

The entire process, the initial confrontation included, one of the robbers worked on the psychology of the security and bank staff, taking two minutes.

The actual robbery took less than a minute.

All three quickly left the surveillance area.

With that, the video ended.

Li Donglin furrowed his brows deeply.

Robbing a bank is one of the most significant types of robbery cases.

No matter how much money is taken, robbing a bank is considered a severe offense.

"What does everyone think?"

Though the surveillance video was brief, it already revealed some information.

Wang Song thought before speaking first.

"From the position of the robbers within the surveillance footage, it’s clear they were extremely familiar with the security personnel’s positions."

Everyone nodded in agreement with Wang Song’s assessment.

There were three robbers and three security personnel; two robbers rapidly positioned themselves behind two security guards, pressing firearms against their heads, a swift and efficient act, as if rehearsed countless times.

The third robber timed his entry perfectly, arriving on scene just as the third guard was about to draw his weapon.

After that, the confrontation between the two sides ensued.

"Hence, I believe the robbers must have scouted multiple times to achieve this level of precision."

This point was agreed upon by everyone.

Furthermore, the robbers targeted the third branch out of three possibilities, clearly aware it offered the largest cash haul.

"Another point, the robber mentioned the security personnel earning a little over $5000..."

"This suggests the robbers were familiar with the salary of the security transport company. It’s possible someone they know works there, or one of the robbers previously had a similar job."

"I think this aspect should be investigated thoroughly."

Li Donglin nodded, this point echoed his thoughts too.

Though the robber used a voice changer obscuring whether it was a man or woman speaking, the comments suggested familiarity with the cash transport security industry.

Indeed, a pivotal starting point.

"Does anyone else have thoughts?"