Following an extensive investigation, Colonel Pham Dinh Ngoc, Head of the Criminal Police Division, provided details on the tactics employed by the ring. The operation came to light after police received tips from the public and monitored suspicious activities on social media, where the group was covertly arranging the illegal sale of newborns.

The investigation began with the case of Nguyen Thi Anh Dao, a 34-year-old woman from Nghe An province, who was found caring for a three-day-old male infant at a hotel in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City.

Upon being summoned by the police, Dao admitted to her involvement, revealing that she had deceived others by claiming she was struggling with infertility and needed to adopt a newborn.

In reality, she had acquired the infant from a mother in Dak Lak province and was planning to sell the child to a couple in Ho Chi Minh City for approximately $1,600.

The investigation further revealed that Dao was not acting alone. She was part of a broader network involving several key figures, including Hoang Thi Nhung (42, Dong Nai province), Do Thi Thuy Ngan (30, Hanoi), and Cao Thi Thu Phuong (41, Hai Duong province). These individuals were involved in orchestrating and managing the trafficking of infants under the pretense of adoption.

As a result, the Ho Chi Minh City Police Investigation Agency has charged and detained 16 individuals for crimes including "Trafficking in Persons under 16" and "Forgery of Seals, Documents of Agencies, and Organizations."

One of the more distressing cases involved Vi Thi Anh, a 38-year-old woman from Son La province, who had purchased a 20-day-old male infant from the network. Vi was awaiting the execution of two prison sentences totaling more than 12 years for drug trafficking. She had intended to use the adoption of the infant as a means to delay her prison term.

The trafficking network operated on a significant scale, with involvement from six brokers who facilitated the transactions. Since early 2024, the group has used closed social media groups to connect with mothers in difficult circumstances who were unable to care for their newborns.

The ring purchased 16 infants, ranging from 3 days to 3 months old, for prices between $400 and $1,000, later selling them for $1,500 to $3,200 each, generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in illicit profits.

To legitimize these transactions, the network collaborated with a document forgery ring led by Phan Phuong Nam (34, Dong Nai province). This group produced fake birth certificates and other documents to formalize the illegal adoptions and register the newborns as legal children of their new "parents."

A police raid on the forgery operation in Bien Hoa City, Dong Nai province, uncovered 49 tools and devices used for creating fake documents, including computers, printers, embossers, photocopiers, laminators, ink, various seals, and thousands of counterfeit documents, including fake birth certificates.

Tracing these fake documents led the investigative team to identify 84 cases of suspected infant trafficking across 32 provinces and cities. The police have successfully rescued several of these infants and are working with local authorities to ensure their protection and care.

Dam De