Capítulo 1481: Chapter 698: The Death Knell of Belize
October 2nd, xico City International Airport.
A Boeing 747 passenger plane with the Cathay Pacific logo slowly landed on the runway.
Many tourists and those who ca to et people noticed an unusual scene: a convoy of six black Chevrolet vehicles drove directly into the airport’s controlled area and stopped near the boarding bridge.
The car doors opened, and more than a dozen xican security personnel, dressed in black suits, wearing sunglasses, and with communication wires hanging from their ears, quickly got out and guarded the area.
The leading car door opened, and a man in a senior police officer’s uniform stepped out. It was none other than Friedrich Karl Eberstein, xican Deputy Police Minister and the Capital’s Police Chief.
“Look over there, who’s that important person arriving?”
“Governnt vehicles can drive in here; it must be soone important.”
Passengers waiting for their flights stopped and curiously gazed around. Many took out their portable caras to photograph or film the convoy and Deputy Minister Eberstein.
The jet bridge opened, and passengers began to erge. Upon seeing those vehicles, they hesitated noticeably, exchanging glances.
Soon, a small group with distinctly different Eastern faces appeared at the entrance of the passage.
There were about sixteen or seventeen of them, all dressed in neat, dark suits, both n and won, looking very capable.
Leading them was a man of about forty, a Chinese man who imdiately spotted Deputy Minister Eberstein waiting outside and walked straight over with his group.
Eberstein displayed a courteous smile, stepped forward, and proactively extended his hand.
“Welco to xico City, sir. It’s been a long journey,” he said in English.
The leading senior police inspector from Xiangjiang firmly shook Eberstein’s hand, replying in fluent English with a Cantonese accent, “Thank you, Deputy Minister, for the personal welco. I am Li Wenbin, Senior Superintendent from Xiangjiang’s Organized Cri and Triad Investigation Bureau (O Kee), and this is my colleague, Drug Investigation Division (NB) Superintendent Zheng Chuyao.”
He stepped to the side to introduce a short-haired woman next to him, who nodded as she extended her hand to Eberstein.
“Welco to you all, Inspector Li, Superintendent Zheng.” Eberstein shook hands with Zheng Chuyao as well. “The journey must have been long; you must be tired. Vehicles are ready. I’ll first take you to the hotel to settle down.”
Without much small talk, they quickly got into the cars under the security personnel’s escort.
The convoy, guided by airport ground handling vehicles, sped along the airport’s special passage, bypassing the congested public areas and rging into the airport expressway traffic.
Senior Superintendent Li Wenbin and Superintendent Zheng Chuyao were in the sa car with Eberstein.
Looking out of the car window, Eberstein smiled and said, “xico City is a very vibrant city. Since you’ve traveled long distances, you can rest and adjust for a couple of days, adapt to the ti difference. I can arrange for soone to show you Constitution Plaza, the National Museum of Anthropology, or taste authentic xican food, like mole sauce and tacos.”
Li Wenbin, the Senior Superintendent, gazed at the modern elevated bridges and the rank of skyscrapers passing swiftly outside the window, his eyes revealing a trace of complex emotion.
He heard Eberstein’s suggestions for sightseeing, smiled slightly but kept his eyes on the cityscape passing by outside.
“Thank you for your kindness, Deputy Minister, but xico City… I’m not a stranger here.”
“In the late eighties, around ’88 or ’89, I ca here briefly as a liaison officer for the International Criminal Police Organization stationed in France, at the request of the xican governnt, to participate in so…um, drug-related exchanges and technical assistance projects.”
Eberstein turned his head slightly surprised. “Oh, Inspector Li, you have had this experience?”
“Yes, I was very young then.”
Li Wenbin gently sighed, pointing to an area outside the window that is now a bustling comrcial district. “I rember over there, in that direction, used to be a huge slum called ‘Nezahualcoyotl City,’ right? Densely packed shabby houses, muddy roads, drug traffickers, and gangs ran rampant, it was nearly a place beyond the law. We didn’t even dare easily enter with vehicles; we could only look around the periter under heavy military and police protection.”
He moved his finger in another direction. “And over there, near the old city, there were many abandoned factories, which had beco drug processing dens and battlefields for gang fights. At night, gunshots were often heard. At that ti, our exchange with the xican side, to be honest, was very difficult, almost desperate. We provided so intelligence analysis and case integration ideas, but facing such an entrenched, violence-riddled situation, it felt like trying to extinguish a forest fire with a cup of water.”
Li Wenbin paused briefly, his voice filled with emotion: “How long has it been? Five or six years, that’s it, the chaotic, dangerous, drug-shadowed xico City I had in my mory has almost vanished.”
He pointed at the neatly arranged streets outside, orderly traffic, patrolling police officers, and high-end communities clearly newly built in the distance. “The changes are enormous, turning everything upside down. That suffocating sense of terror is gone, replaced by a sense of order and vitality. I find it hard to imagine the kind of imnse strength and determination required to achieve such an almost impossible transformation.”
He turned his head, looking at Eberstein with a profound investigative implication: “Deputy Minister Eberstein, if I may speak bluntly, as a professional, I understand the extre complexity of anti-drug work. How did xico manage to accomplish this? This is almost a worldwide miracle. There are many rumors about Mr. Victor’s thods out there, but the results we see firsthand are eye-opening.”
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