Vietnam busts transnational illegal surrogacy ring led by Chinese national

The operation was jointly carried out by the Criminal Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security and the police force in Ninh Binh Province, northern Vietnam.

Provincial police have charged Quach Thi Thuong, 39, Pham Thi Hoai Thu, 38, and five other women with ‘organizing surrogacy for commercial purposes’ under Article 187 of the Vietnamese Penal Code.

According to initial investigations, in late 2021, a Chinese man named Wang recruited Thuong via the Zalo social media platform to find healthy Vietnamese women under 35 willing to act as paid surrogates.

He instructed Thuong to arrange for these women to travel to China or Cambodia for embryo implantation.

Once their pregnancies were confirmed and stable, the women would return to Vietnam for prenatal care, regular check-ups, and delivery.

Each surrogate was paid VND300-400 million (US$11,430–15,240) for the illegal service.

Thuong was also responsible for recruiting individuals to manage and care for the newborns, complete birth registrations, conduct DNA tests, handle procedures for the newborns’ fathers to receive their children, and arrange travel documents for the babies.

Wang also hired Thu, a former surrogate in the ring, to escort surrogates to medical appointments and assist with hospital admission and discharge when they gave birth at hospitals in Vietnam.

Wang paid Thuong $1,000 and Thu $500 per month.

All expenses for the surrogates and salaries for members of the racket in Vietnam were paid by bank transfer.

During interrogation, Thuong admitted to organizing around 60 surrogacy cases, earning about VND575 million ($21,920), while Thu took part in 40 cases and made roughly VND345 million ($13,150).

Investigators found 11 Vietnamese women who had served as surrogates in the ring and were later hired by Thuong as nannies to care for the newborns, earning up to VND750,000 ($28.6) per day.

The Criminal Police Department has placed the 11 rescued babies, aged from nine days to three months, at Ngoi Nha Binh Yen (Peace Home Shelter Vietnam) in Hanoi, which operates under the Vietnam Women’s Union, to ensure proper care.

Investigators from the department and Ninh Binh police are still handling the case.