Police in Vietnam arrest 12 men for stealing 2,700 cats for restaurant meat trade

Suspects detained after nocturnal raids

Police in southern Vietnam have detained 12 men accused of running an organized pet-theft network that abducted approximately 2,700 domestic cats from residential neighbourhoods. The suspects were placed in pre-trial custody in Ho Chi Minh City following coordinated police operations carried out on the night of 4 October 2026. Municipal police officials confirmed that all 12 individuals confessed to the charges, acknowledging that they stole and trafficked companion animals of various breeds to sell them into the commercial meat trade.

According to police bulletins and state media reports, the gang deployed its members in small motorized teams that prowled residential streets between 23:00 and 04:00. Taking advantage of empty nocturnal roads, each squad abducted an average of four to ten cats during a single shift using specialized wire traps. The animals were then quickly loaded onto motorbikes and transported to central distribution hubs in Ho Chi Minh City for sorting, weighing, and mechanical preparation.

Evidence seized and previous crackdowns

The arrests represent the culmination of an investigation that began several months earlier into animal theft networks operating in Ho Chi Minh City and neighbouring provinces. Authorities had previously struck the same criminal syndicate during a targeted raid on 8 July 2026. During that operation, police officers intercepted the gang, recovering 50 live cats and confiscating 55 cat traps, two scales, two mechanical fur-removal machines, seven motorbikes, and 13 mobile phones used to orchestrate logistics.

Following the July intervention, local authorities returned a portion of the recovered animals to their rightful owners and transferred the remaining cats to a temporary care facility while verification processes concluded. The case is part of a broader sequence of enforcement operations across Vietnam throughout 2026. In June 2026, law enforcement officials rescued more than 400 stolen cats and discovered 80 dead cats preserved on ice. Earlier in the year, police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested 18 people accused of operating within two separate, independent cat-theft syndicates.

Legal status and black market economics

The culinary consumption of both cat and dog meat is fully legal under Vietnamese law, and many restaurants across the country advertise specialty meat dishes. Nevertheless, commercial meat handlers and restaurant owners are required by law to present official provenance certificates verifying the legitimate origin and sanitary inspection of the animals. The clandestine capture of residential pets circumvents these mandatory agricultural and public health regulations.

Stolen domestic cats are sold to restaurants and meat dealers for 70,000 Vietnamese dong per kilogram, which corresponds to at least 2.40 euros per kilogram. Because the criminal crews capture free-roaming household pets without incurring livestock breeding, feed, or licensing expenses, the illicit supply chain generates substantial profits. The 12 arrested suspects remain held under provisional detention orders in Ho Chi Minh City as prosecutors advance formal criminal proceedings.