Vietnamese police bust cross-border surrogacy ring, rescue 11 infants
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HANOI – The Vietnamese police have smashed a major cross-border surrogacy ring led by a Chinese national, rescuing eleven infants and arresting multiple suspects in a coordinated operation across several provinces.
The Ministry of Public Security’s Criminal Police Department said on Aug 8 that the gang, headed by a man known only as Wang, was a highly organised criminal network using social media, secure communications and fake identities to evade detection.
The case came to light when Division 5 of the Criminal Police detected suspicious activity on social media involving commercial surrogacy with links to other countries.
Investigators later confirmed that financially vulnerable Vietnamese women were being recruited as surrogates, with some taken to China or Cambodia for embryo transfers before returning to Vietnam for the remainder of their pregnancy.
Following orders from Senior Lieutenant-General Nguyen Van Long, Deputy Minister and head of the Investigation Police Agency, officers launched a series of raids on July 15.
Suspects taken in for questioning included Quach Thi Thuong, 39, from Lam Dong; Pham Thi Hoai Thu, 38; Phung Thi Nuong, 29; and Nguyen Thi Hang, 29, from Hanoi; Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, 33, from Ninh Binh; and Lo Thi Thanh, 29, from Son La, along with other related individuals.
Eleven babies, aged between nine days and three months, were rescued.
Investigations revealed that Thuong, using the Zalo account “Coca”, later renamed “Pepsi”, was recruited by Wang in late 2021 to find women under 35 in good health to act as surrogates. Zalo is a Vietnamese messaging application.
She also hired caregivers to look after newborns and arrange birth registration, DNA tests, paternity certificates and travel documents.
Thu, a former surrogate herself, handled hospital admissions and discharges for surrogates. Thuong was paid monthly wages of US$1,000 (S$1,300) by Wang and Thu received US$500 per month.
Each surrogate received about 300 million (S$14,700) to 400 million Vietnamese dong per pregnancy. The police said Thuong arranged about 60 surrogacies, earning 575 million dong, while Thu handled about 40 cases, earning 345 million dong.
Some former surrogates, still struggling financially, were rehired as nannies for other surrogates’ babies and paid up to 750,000 dong per day.
To avoid detection, members of the ring lived in luxury apartments with high security and frequently changed addresses.
Through investigations, the police also detained three Chinese nationals who had entered Vietnam in May to collect a baby, allegedly on the orders of another Chinese suspect.
The police have charged Thuong, Thu, Nuong, Hang, Trang, Thanh and one Vo Thi Lan with organising surrogacy for commercial purposes.
The rescued infants are now in the care of an organisation run by the Vietnam Women’s Union’s Centre for Women and Development.
The authorities are working with the Ministry of Health’s Department for Maternal and Child Health and the Vietnam Children’s Protection Fund to ensure the babies’ safety while the investigation continues. VIET NAM NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
