The police have smashed a major cross-border surrogacy ring led by a Chinese national, rescuing 11 infants and arresting multiple suspects in a coordinated operation across several provinces.
The Public Security Ministry’s Criminal Police Department said on Friday 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 Lt-Gen 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.
She also hired caregivers to look after newborns and arrange birth registration, DNA tests, paternity certificates and travel documents.
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 to ensure the babies’ safety while the investigation continues. — Vietnam News/ANN
