On 9/8, the Criminal Police Department (C02) of the Ministry of Public Security announced the dismantling of a large-scale, transnational surrogacy ring led by a Chinese national named Wang (whose background remains unclear). Authorities rescued 11 infants ranging from 9 days to 3 months old.

Ninh Binh Provincial Police have charged Quach Thi Thuong, 40, Pham Thi Hoai Thu, 38, and five others with organizing surrogacy for commercial purposes.

Police interview the surrogate mothers. Photo: Police provided

Police interview the surrogate mothers. Photo: Police provided

Initial investigations reveal that in late 2021, Wang contacted Thuong via the social media platform Zalo and asked her to find healthy Vietnamese women under 35 to act as surrogates. Thuong was also tasked with finding individuals to manage and care for the newborns, handle birth certificates, conduct DNA testing, facilitate paternal recognition, and secure passports for the babies.

Wang instructed Thuong to guide the women who agreed to be surrogates through the process of traveling to China or Cambodia for embryo implantation. After a successful heartbeat was confirmed and their health was stable, they would return to Vietnam for prenatal care, regular checkups, and delivery. Each woman received 300-400 million VND.

Wang also hired Thu (who had previously been a surrogate in the ring) to take the pregnant women to regular checkups and handle hospital admission and discharge procedures for deliveries at Vietnamese hospitals.

Wang paid Thuong 1,000 USD per month and Thu 500 USD. All expenses for the surrogate mothers and salaries for the network in Vietnam were transferred electronically.

During questioning, Thuong confessed to successfully organizing around 60 surrogacy cases, profiting 575 million VND. Thu participated in 40 cases, earning 345 million VND.

Police rescued 11 babies ranging in age from 9 days to 3 months. Photo: Police provided

Police rescued 11 babies ranging in age from 9 days to 3 months. Photo: Police provided

The C02 identified 11 Vietnamese women who had previously been surrogates within the ring and were subsequently hired by Thuong as nannies to care for the infants. They were paid between 570,000 and 750,000 VND per day. Members of the ring lived scattered across various high-security apartment complexes and frequently moved to avoid detection by law enforcement.

The 11 rescued children are currently under the care of the Peace House, part of the Women and Development Center of the Vietnam Women's Union.