By The European Times | Created at 2026-10-09 10:52:49 | Updated at 2026-10-09 12:37:12
2 hours ago
Vietnamese police have arrested 12 men accused of stealing nearly 2,700 cats during night-time raids in residential neighborhoods; the pets were taken to be slaughtered for food.
Fur-removal machines, cat traps, and weighing scales were among the items confiscated during the investigation into the cat-theft gang in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnamese police and state media reported in early October.
The consumption of dog and cat meat is legal in Vietnam, where many restaurants openly advertise the meat, though sellers are required to obtain certificates proving the animals’ origins.
According to media reports, stolen cats can be sold to restaurants for at least 70,000 dong ($2.70) per kilogram.
The 12 men were arrested on charges of property theft and admitted to having “stolen and trafficked approximately 2,700 cats of various types,” a police statement said.
The suspects operated between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., roaming residential areas on motorbikes in small groups to steal the cats, state media reported. The network was first uncovered in July, when police seized 50 live cats, along with 55 cat traps, two scales, and two fur-removal machines.
It is believed that each team stole between four and ten cats per night.
Police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested 18 people earlier this year, accusing them of involvement in two separate cat-stealing rings.
Vietnam is a major trafficking route for illegal wildlife products, including tiger bones used in traditional medicine.
In early February this year, Vietnamese police discovered two dead tigers in freezers in the basement of a man who was arrested, along with another individual, for the illegal trade of the endangered animal; authorities announced the find.
The Southeast Asian nation is a hub for consumption and a major trafficking route for illegal wildlife products, including tiger bones used in traditional medicine.
Police in Thanh Hoa province, south of the capital Hanoi, stated that they found the frozen carcasses of two adult tigers—weighing a total of approximately 400 kilograms—in the basement of 52-year-old Hoang Dinh Dat.
In an online statement, police said the man told officers he had purchased the animals for two billion dong ($77,000), identifying the seller as 31-year-old Nguyen Doan Son. Both men were arrested, police reported.
According to the statement, the buyer possessed equipment for producing “tiger bone glue,” a sticky substance believed to treat skeletal ailments. Tigers once roamed Vietnam’s forests but have now all but disappeared.
Illustrative photo: pexels-magda-ehlers-pexels-5958812
