The Dead Chinese (9/12)

The Dead Chinese (9/12)

The body of an Asian-looking man is found in an airport hotel, his larynx crushed by a barbell. Inspectors Sänger and Dellwo have their hands full even figuring out who the man is and where he came from, not to mention why he was killed and by whom.

Their only lead is the trade convention taking place at the hotel, with more than 600 Chinese guests in attendance. Sänger finds out their victim was seen at the hotel bar with three other conventioneers, with whom he got into an argument. At the same time at the airport, a very nervous Chinese man tries to check in for a flight to the US with ticket and passport. He's the janitor who discovered the dead body that morning, and happens to have a striking resemblance to the murder victim. Now he wants to use the resemblance to finally join his family in America. But at the passport check, someone grabs the passport away from him - someone's after him, or after the murder victim Tony Wang, that is. Russian businessman Shavkat Nazarov finally points the detectives in the right direction: Tony Wang wanted to get into the people-smuggling business with him, and now there's a freight container full of illegal Chinese immigrants somewhere in Frankfurt, without food or water. Sänger and Dellwo realize they not only have to solve the mystery of one person's death, but prevent the deaths of many more. A furious race against the clock begins.

German Primetime Broadcasting (ARD) 21,5% market share / 6,59 Mio viewers
TV Crime Award 2008 - best actor and best actress