Hanoi police have secured charges against two women following an investigation into a large-scale smuggling operation involving frozen chicken feet valued at more than US$13 million. The case reveals how regulatory loopholes in Vietnam's import system were exploited over a three-year period, with imported poultry products originating from countries experiencing active disease outbreaks being diverted to domestic consumption networks rather than legitimate export channels as required by law.

Nguyen Thi To Loan, 47, operated ABF Food Import-Export JSC based in Ninh Binh Province and served as the primary architect of the scheme, while her associate Trang Tuyet Ngoc, 45, who held a position as head of the assistant department at An Binh Group, facilitated the distribution network across Vietnamese markets. Both suspects have reportedly confessed to all charges levelled against them, according to police statements released on Friday, June 19.

The smuggling operation functioned through a deliberate misclassification of imports. Between 2023 and 2026, the network successfully imported 339 shipping containers of frozen chicken feet, with all paperwork properly filed declaring the goods as materials destined exclusively for processing and re-export purposes. This declaration was essential because Vietnamese law strictly prohibits the domestic sale of poultry products sourced from countries with documented poultry disease activity. Such restrictions exist to protect consumers and the domestic poultry industry from potential disease transmission and contamination risks.

However, once the shipments cleared customs based on these false declarations, Loan allegedly instructed Ngoc to redirect the entire supply toward the domestic market instead of honouring the supposed export commitment. Rather than moving the frozen chicken feet back out of the country, the operation systematically distributed more than 10,000 metric tonnes across food-service businesses operating in Hanoi, Cao Bang, Ninh Binh, Quang Ninh and numerous other provinces throughout Vietnam. This domestic diversion represented a complete violation of import conditions and exposed Vietnamese consumers to potentially compromised food products.

The financial implications of this operation were substantial. The total declared value of imported goods exceeded VNĐ347 billion, equivalent to approximately US$13 million at current exchange rates. Critically, the scheme operated without payment of any applicable import duties, representing a significant loss to state revenue. The absence of duty payments, combined with the value of goods involved, elevated the case from a simple regulatory breach to a serious smuggling investigation with both food safety and fiscal dimensions.

When Vietnamese authorities conducted coordinated raids on cold-storage facilities connected to the operation, they uncovered the scale of remaining inventory within the system. Police discovered more than 2,000 metric tonnes of frozen chicken feet still stored in warehouse facilities, indicating that the operation had substantial stocks either awaiting distribution or held in reserve.

A raid on the An Viet 2 freezer facility located in Hanoi's Quang Minh Industrial Zone proved particularly revealing. Investigators recovered over 1,000 metric tonnes of frozen chicken feet, among which approximately 260 metric tonnes had already exceeded their expiration dates and displayed visible signs of deterioration including mold growth and strong odours suggesting bacterial contamination. Most troubling, authorities observed that these expired and potentially hazardous products appeared to have been staged for continued distribution into consumer supply chains, suggesting an intent to sell spoiled goods to food-service businesses and ultimately to consumers.

A separate operation at the THL cold-storage warehouse in Lang Son Province in northern Vietnam yielded an additional 1,030 metric tonnes, further demonstrating the distributed nature of the smuggling network and its reliance on multiple storage points across different provinces. This geographic spread indicates a sophisticated operation designed to minimize detection risk by fragmenting inventory across locations.

For Malaysian readers and regional observers, this case illustrates vulnerabilities in cross-border food supply chains throughout Southeast Asia. The scheme exploited the gap between declared import purposes and actual end-use of products, a technique that could be replicated in other jurisdictions with similar regulatory frameworks. The involvement of expired and contaminated products in the distribution chain raises particular alarm for food safety standards across the region, as such materials could have entered restaurants, catering operations, and retail establishments without proper inspection.

The implications extend to Vietnamese consumers and businesses throughout the supply chain. Restaurants and food-service establishments that unknowingly purchased these imported chicken feet faced potential liability and reputational damage, while consumers may have been exposed to foodborne illness risks from products sourced from disease-prone regions and stored under questionable conditions.

Hanoi police have formally charged both Loan and Ngoc under Article 188 of Vietnam's 2015 Penal Code, which addresses smuggling offences. The investigation remains active, with authorities working to identify additional individuals and organisations that may have participated in various aspects of the smuggling network. Investigators are particularly focused on determining whether shipping agents, cold-storage operators, restaurant purchasers, or other intermediaries knowingly facilitated the scheme or acted unknowingly as components of the larger operation. The ongoing investigation suggests authorities expect further charges and prosecutions as the full scope of the network emerges.