According to Thanh Hoa Provincial Police, officers from the Economic Police Division discovered signs of environmental protection violations at pig farms operated by NewHope Thanh Hoa Co., Ltd. in Tuong Lien 1 Hamlet and Tuong Son 3 Hamlet in Thach Quang Commune.

On April 24, investigators coordinated with other functional agencies to conduct on-site inspections at the farming complex.

Authorities discovered a wastewater channel and untreated pig waste flowing directly from the northwestern section of the wastewater treatment station in Zone D into a large dumping site spanning thousands of square meters.

Initial findings showed the waste dumping area covered approximately 7,307 square meters and contained around 8,544.5 cubic meters of untreated waste, equivalent to nearly 6 million kilograms.

Investigators said the suspects allegedly took advantage of remote hilly terrain and low-lying ponds located far from residential areas behind the wastewater treatment system to illegally dump untreated waste in order to reduce pressure on the farm’s environmental treatment infrastructure.

At the investigation agency, Huang Qi Lei, also known as Hoang Khoi Loi, born in 1983 and originally from Shandong Province in China, admitted he had ordered untreated wastewater to be pumped from the treatment system to the hill area in Zone D because the volume of livestock wastewater had exceeded the degraded system’s processing capacity.

According to investigators, during 2023 and 2024, Huang Qi Lei instructed Ha Thi Thuc Huyen, manager of the wastewater treatment sections in Zones D and H, to pump untreated wastewater and waste from the treatment system into the hillside dumping area.

In 2025, after Huyen began maternity leave, Huang allegedly directed Le Van Quoc, an employee in the wastewater treatment department, to continue carrying out the dumping activities.

Based on the investigation results, Thanh Hoa Provincial Police formally launched criminal proceedings, prosecuted the suspects and executed detention orders against Huang Qi Lei and Le Van Quoc, born in 1989, to facilitate further investigation.

Authorities applied a travel restriction order instead of detention for Ha Thi Thuc Huyen, born in 1995, because she is currently caring for a child under 36 months old.

The investigation remains ongoing as police continue expanding the case to determine the responsibilities of other organizations and individuals involved under Vietnamese law.

Le Duong