According to Sina on 17/12, the Procuratorate has officially approved the arrest of 9 key suspects, with the remaining individuals under investigation. Authorities stated that to attract clients, the group heavily advertised "non-invasive fetal gender determination" or "genetic disease screening" services on social media. The suspects lured pregnant women with promises of "absolute accuracy" and "safety, no risks," charging 2,000 to 3,000 RMB (approximately 7-10 million VND) per test. Following agreement, clients were instructed to collect blood samples via private clinics or online medical platforms.
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Seized smuggled blood samples from pregnant women. Photo: CCTV News
The Guangzhou Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau described this as a criminal organization more extensive and sophisticated than previous cases. Instead of operating individually, the group established a closed supply chain encompassing online solicitation, express delivery collection, transit warehousing, and cross-border smuggling.
To evade border control, couriers tightly wrapped blood sample tubes around their waists, thighs, or concealed them in secret compartments of specially designed travel suitcases. However, crude transportation led to many samples leaking and test tubes shattering upon seizure by authorities.
Police warned that this activity directly threatens national biosecurity because pregnant women's blood samples contain core genetic information, falling under strict import-export control. Shattered samples also pose a risk of spreading infectious diseases to the community. Furthermore, non-medical fetal gender determination violates Chinese law, exacerbating selective abortions and gender imbalance. Experts note that a mother's blood contains free fetal DNA. By testing the mother's blood at 6-7 weeks, the gender can be determined (by finding the Y chromosome, indicating a male child). As this practice is banned on mainland China, these rings smuggle blood to Hong Kong or other countries where the service is openly performed, to provide results.
The practice of smuggling blood samples for gender testing is not new in China. A company in Shenzhen was previously found to have lured over 50,000 pregnant women into a similar scheme, with transactions totaling 200 million RMB.
Legal experts noted that social media platforms have exposed a significant loophole by inadvertently becoming information conduits for criminals. According to China's Cybersecurity Law, platform operators face severe administrative penalties if they fail to promptly prevent users from exploiting services to advertise and carry out illegal activities.
Binh Minh (According to Sina, The Paper, CCTV News)
