Chapter 697
"Uncle Wei, you are the one who handles the case."
Su Miao, whose symptoms had eased, greeted the police with a smile. It was she who provided the clues when Officer Wei ambushed drug dealers in their alley last time.
Officer Wei was also taken aback when he saw her and Su Yuanzheng. He asked in surprise, "Su Miao? Comrade Su? Were you the ones who called the police?"
Su Yuanzheng also recognized him and said:
"Yes, Officer Wei, I was the one who called the police. Miaomiao felt unwell after eating at a restaurant in the west of the city. I just took a urine test and it showed something wrong..."
He briefly told the two police officers what happened today.
Officer Wei asked his apprentice to take notes. His eyes fell on the IV needle in Su Miao's arm, and then he glanced at the test report on the table.
When he saw the words "trace amounts of morphine detected in urine," his previously calm expression instantly darkened. He tapped his fingertips twice on the edge of the report: "Tiantianlai catering department? The braised food shop in the west of the city?"
"Yes! Uncle Wei, my classmate has been taking it for more than half a year. Now he is extremely thin and has low blood sugar. It must be related to this!" Su Miao said angrily.
"You ordered a braised food platter today. What kinds of dishes are there? Are there any other dishes? Is there anything unusual in the kitchen?" Officer Wei asked.
"There were duck wings, braised eggs, dried tofu, pork intestines..." Su Miao tried hard to recall, "We didn't go into the kitchen, but it smelled really good, a little too sweet. And when the boss lady mentioned the 'secret recipe', her eyes were particularly proud."
…
An investigation into the food safety issues of the masses is urgent.
Officer Wei comforted Su Miao for a few words and asked her to have a good rest as ordered by the doctor. Then he immediately took his apprentice back to the unit and reported the situation.
In order to prevent the restaurant from destroying the evidence, they urgently joined forces with the Food Supervision Bureau and other relevant units to work together on the case, surrounding the Tiantianlai restaurant during the afternoon meal time when the restaurant was busiest.
The police car braked suddenly and stopped in front of the store, startling the flies circling at the door.
When the proprietress saw the police come in, the menu in her hand fell to the ground with a "bang".
"Comrade Public Security, are you... coming to have dinner?" She hurriedly came out, forcing a smile, the fat on her face shaking unnaturally.
Officer Wei showed his ID:
"After investigation, we suspect you are illegally adding banned substances to food. We are now conducting an inspection of the kitchen. Please cooperate. Until the inspection is completed, the kitchen and storage materials cannot be moved."
"This...how can we even begin to explain this!" The proprietress's voice suddenly rose. "Comrade Public Security, we're running a legitimate business!"
A man with a greasy apron and a large iron spoon in his hand rushed out from the kitchen. "What's going on?"
"Don't go back in once the people from the kitchen come out. Please cooperate with our investigation."
After Officer Wei finished speaking, he gestured to his apprentice and asked him to go in with the comrades from the Food and Drug Administration to conduct the inspection.
The proprietress suddenly rushed to the counter, as if she wanted to get something.
Officer Wei rushed forward to stop her: "Don't move! Don't move anything until we finish checking."
The store was full of customers at this time. They looked at the group of law enforcement officers who suddenly rushed in, confused as to why, but it did not affect them from enjoying their meals while watching the fun.
However, it wasn't long before the excitement caught up with him.
From the kitchen came the young police officer's cry: "Captain Wei! Something's happening here!"
Everyone rushed into the kitchen, and the scene before them made them gasp.
The sanitary conditions in the kitchen were worrying. On the shelf next to the stove, there was an open plastic bag with several dried brown shell-like objects in it.
Several similar fragments were floating in the large barrel of brine in the corner.
"This is a poppy shell! You are so brave! You just put it there without even pretending?" Officer Wei put on gloves and carefully collected evidence.
The boss, who had just come out of the kitchen, looked as pale as death. He suddenly jumped up and tried to rush out the door, but was held down by the police guarding outside.
The proprietress collapsed on the ground and began to cry loudly: "We are also forced... Business is too difficult..."
"Shut up!" Officer Li shouted. "Do you know this thing can kill people?"
During the police search, a ledger was found in the cash register drawer, which recorded in detail the time, quantity and price of each purchase of "special spices".
Looking through the account books, we found that they started looking for channels to purchase poppy shells shortly after opening the business, and this process lasted for half a year.
"How many people have been harmed in half a year..." Officer Li flipped through the account book and shook his head angrily.
As the search deepened, the police found another bag of unused poppy shells and a stack of packaging bags printed with the words "secret spices" in the backyard warehouse.
After the staff of the Food and Drug Administration arrived, they confirmed on the spot that these were illegal additives.
The matter has basically been settled. The diners who watched the whole process in the restaurant didn't dare to take another bite, regardless of whether there was food in their bowls or not.
The food in the store needed to be collected for testing. The police took away the pale-looking store owner and his wife, and the restaurant was sealed.
The crowd watching was talking about it, and many neighbors showed shocked expressions.
“I was wondering why their taste is so addictive…”
"My wife has lost 20 pounds in the past six months and loves eating his braised food..."
"What a sin! How many people have been harmed by this..."
The case affected a wide range of diners, and the news became a hot topic for a while. Customers who had eaten at his restaurant were all in a panic, fearing that they had become addicted to drugs.
Within a few days, many people rushed to the hospital for examination, including Wei Siya's family who had received news about Su Miao.
The doctor in a white coat called out to the corridor: "Urine test number 37! Are you there?"
Before he finished speaking, a dozen people holding number plates immediately surrounded him. One of them said, "It's me! It's me! How's the doctor? Am I okay?"
The doctor pinched my solar plexus with a headache and said, "If you ate that restaurant's food within 24 hours, it will definitely be detected. But if you don't have any special symptoms, you don't need treatment, just don't eat it in the future."
"This... How is this possible! That's poppy!"
"Yeah, yeah, once you take drugs you'll become addicted!"
"You're a doctor! You have to treat us!"
"I don't want to be addicted! I don't want to do drugs! I'll die!"
For a moment, the hospital corridor was noisy again. This was the umpteenth time in the past few days. The doctors could only give everyone some scientific advice in a gentle tone, but it was still difficult to dispel everyone's concerns.
Under this circumstance, the relevant departments quickly investigated the case and issued a case report three days later. They then published a popular science article in the newspaper and notified representatives from each neighborhood committee to attend a meeting to study the case.
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