Chapter 156 Anti-smuggling

The Freight Management Office was a military unit that ultimately reported to the Military Commission of Chiang Kai-shek's government.So, what about the government agency responsible for inspecting smuggling?After all, this is a potentially huge income for the Ministry of Finance.It turned out that during 1940-1941, British advisers advised the Chairman to increase government revenue by establishing more effective methods of controlling smuggling. Chiang Kai-shek therefore established an "anti-smuggling agency" under the Ministry of Finance with 60,000 employees, headed by Dai Li himself.The anti-smuggling bureau has anti-smuggling offices in the provinces ruled by the Kuomintang, and there are anti-smuggling posts under it.This gave Dai Li total control over the government's secret smuggling agency during that time.

The control of smuggling in China (except for the collection of duties by customs) was in the hands of Dai Li's secret police.In effect, Day's organization, by virtue of its monopoly, "controlled" much of the growing trade with the enemy, while other operators were only allowed to participate if they were willing to pay.Dai's subordinates made a fortune, and the organization itself also made hundreds of millions of dollars in profits, which were used to supply and expand its evil network.This "trade" became its main source of funding, so large that by 1944 it was estimated that there were about half a million officers, agents, and spies on Dai Li's payroll.

However, Dai Li's control of the Anti-Smuggling Agency has not been smooth sailing.One of his main personnel in charge of the anti-smuggling mission, Jin Runsheng, was appointed by him to lead the inspection team and receive the Tax Police Headquarters.But Sun Liren was unwilling to hand over power, and tried every means to subordinate the regiment to the 38th Army he led.In this regard, Dai Li established a counter organization within the First Regiment of the Tax Police Headquarters, stationed in Sichuan, and expanded this organization and four other Tax Police Headquarters commanded by his appointees into a new headquarters.

The more telling challenge, and the challenge that ultimately caused Dai Li trouble, came from the family members of Chiang Kai-shek himself, whose involvement in smuggling during the war was reported to the chairman by Dai Li's anti-smuggling agency.These circumstances were exposed during the investigation of the famous "Lin Shiliang" case.