Seven suspects have been charged with digging up dead, diseased pigs in Khanh Hoa Province, south-central Vietnam, and then slaughtering, processing, and distributing the meat to the market. Photo: Supplied
Provincial police said on Thursday that investigators had launched a criminal case and prosecuted seven suspects for violating food safety regulations
Authorities identified Dang Hoang Dinh, a 30-year-old resident of Cam Lam Commune in Khanh Hoa, as the ringleader.
According to police, Dinh hired six others to excavate carcasses of pigs that had died or been culled due to disease and buried at designated disposal sites.
The group then transported the pigs to a vacant area in Cam Lam, where they slaughtered, processed, and froze the meat before distributing it to the market.
During a surprise inspection on November 30, officers from the provincial police unit specializing in corruption, economic crimes, and smuggling discovered a total of 304 pigs at the site.
Of these, 146 pigs had already been butchered, 125 were dead but intact, and 33 were still alive but severely weakened.
Investigators estimated the total value of the seized pigs at about VND850 million (US$32,400).
Authorities said the group had already processed more than 5,104 kilograms of pork, worth over VND500 million ($19,000), before the operation was exposed.
Laboratory tests conducted on 304 samples revealed that 295 tested positive for African swine fever, a highly contagious and deadly viral disease in pigs.
Khanh Hoa police said the suspects’ actions seriously violated food safety regulations, threatened consumer health and lives, disrupted the livestock industry, and caused environmental pollution.
The provincial police investigation agency said it is continuing to expand the probe to identify additional suspects and trace the distribution channels through which the contaminated pork may have reached consumers.
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