The Great Zoo Heists of Old Chongqing

In 1990s Chongqing, forest policeman Old Li investigated the theft of a sun bear from a zoo, leading his team to an illegal bile-harvesting operation protected by a politically connected Agriculture Bureau chief. To bypass the official's local influence and legal protections, the police employed the unconventional tactic of "kidnapping" the chief to force the bear's safe return. A separate case involving stolen giant salamanders saw the police recover nine specimens from a Guangdong black market—two more than were originally stolen—before returning them to Chongqing via a highly publicized "VIP" first-class flight. These bizarre accounts, preserved through Old Li's oral history, highlight a turbulent era of wildlife crime and systemic corruption involving high-ranking officials like the city's police chief, who was later executed for unrelated bribery.