Hanoi police have charged two women in connection with a large-scale smuggling case involving frozen chicken feet imported from countries affected by active poultry diseases and illegally sold within Vietnam.
Authorities identified the suspects as Nguyen Thi To Loan, 47, who managed ABF Food Import-Export JSC in Ninh Binh province, and Trang Tuyet Ngoc, 45, a senior assistant department head at An Binh Group.
According to police, both suspects have admitted to the charges following investigations into the company’s import activities between 2023 and 2026.
Investigators found that ABF imported 339 containers of frozen chicken feet, declaring them as goods intended strictly for processing and re-export in compliance with customs regulations.
However, instead of re-exporting the products as required by law, Loan allegedly instructed Ngoc to distribute the goods within the domestic market.
Authorities estimate that more than 10,000 metric tonnes of the chicken feet were sold to food service operators across several provinces, including Hanoi, Cao Bang, Ninh Binh and Quang Ninh.
Officials said the total value of the imported goods exceeded VNĐ347 billion (approximately US$13 million), with no import duties paid on the shipments.
During coordinated raids on cold storage facilities linked to the case, police discovered over 2,000 metric tonnes of frozen chicken feet stockpiled at multiple locations.
At one warehouse in Hanoi’s Quang Minh Industrial Zone, more than 1,000 metric tonnes were found, including around 260 metric tonnes that had already expired and showed signs of spoilage, though still allegedly prepared for distribution.
A second raid in Lang Son province uncovered an additional 1,030 metric tonnes stored in cold storage facilities.
Police have charged both suspects under Article 188 of Vietnam’s 2015 Penal Code for smuggling, and investigations are ongoing to identify other individuals or entities involved in the network.
