The Investigation Police Agency of Thanh Hoa Provincial Police has initiated criminal proceedings, prosecuted the accused and ordered the temporary detention of Hoang Dinh Dat and Nguyen Doan Son for illegally trading tigers.

According to Thanh Hoa Provincial Police, through intelligence gathering, the Economic Police Division discovered signs that Hoang Dinh Dat, born in 1974 and residing in Village 7, Xuan Lap Commune, Thanh Hoa Province, had violated laws on wildlife protection involving endangered and rare species prioritized for conservation.

Initial investigations determined that Dat had regularly purchased wild animals, including tigers, before organizing the cooking of tiger glue for sale to obtain illicit profits.

To conceal his activities, the suspect built a secret underground bunker beneath his house, installing reinforced iron doors and a surveillance camera system to monitor and keep watch.

A search of the bunker area revealed that Dat was storing two frozen tiger carcasses along with various tools and equipment used for processing the glue.

At the investigation agency, Dat confessed that he had used the social media platform Zalo to contact Nguyen Doan Son, born in 1995 and residing in Village 2, Thieu Trung Commune, Thanh Hoa Province, to purchase two tiger carcasses that had been eviscerated, with a combined weight of nearly 400kg, for nearly VND2 billion (approximately US$80,000).

Expanding the investigation, the Investigation Police Agency summoned Nguyen Doan Son for questioning. Son admitted that he had purchased the two tiger carcasses from a Lao individual in the Ha Tinh area before transporting them to Thanh Hoa to resell to Hoang Dinh Dat for illegal profit.

Based on the collected documents and evidence, the Investigation Police Agency of Thanh Hoa Provincial Police has formally initiated criminal proceedings, prosecuted the accused and ordered the temporary detention of Hoang Dinh Dat and Nguyen Doan Son for the offense of violating regulations on the protection of endangered, precious and rare animals.

Le Duong