Vietnamese police say they have dismantled a major international surrogacy network, rescuing 11 infants and arresting multiple individuals across several provinces.
The Criminal Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security said on Friday that the ring was orchestrated by a Chinese national known only as Wang, and had systematically exploited women through encrypted communication, social media platforms, and false identities to remain undetected.
Eleven infants, aged between nine days and three months, were rescued from the network.
Surrogacy is legal in Vietnam, but only under tightly regulated conditions and strictly for humanitarian purposes. Commercial surrogacy remains illegal, with criminal penalties for organisers and brokers.
Authorities first detected the scheme when the police began monitoring unusual activity on social media related to commercial surrogacy with international links.
Investigators confirmed that financially vulnerable Vietnamese women were being recruited as surrogate mothers and transported to China or Cambodia for embryo implantations before returning to Vietnam to carry pregnancies to term.
Under orders from deputy minister senior lieutenant‑general Nguyen Van Long, a coordinated operation took place on 15 July, resulting in multiple arrests.
One of the suspects identified as Quach Thi Thuong was operating under the names Coca and Pepsi on the Vietnamese instant messaging multi-platform service Zalo. She was recruited by Wang in late 2021 to find women under 35 in good health for surrogacy, and also organised caregivers and managed birth registrations, DNA testing, paternity certificates, and travel documentation, according to a report in Vietnam News.
Police said Thuong received $1,000 (£743) per month, while a former surrogate named Pham Thi Hoai Thu, who began handling hospital logistics, was paid $500 (£371).
Other suspects arrested were identified as Phung Thi Nuong, Nguyen Thi Hang, Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, and Lo Thi Thanh, among others. They have been formally charged with organising surrogacy for commercial purposes.
Each surrogate was reportedly paid between 300m and 400m Vietnamese dong (£8,500-£11,350) per pregnancy. Thuong allegedly arranged approximately 60 such cases, earning around 575m dong (£16,325), while Thu handled around 40, receiving about 345m dong (£9,795).
Police said payments to surrogates were structured according to pregnancy milestones. Each woman received a 10m dong (£284) bonus following a successful embryo transfer, along with a monthly living stipend of 8m dong (£227) for the duration of the pregnancy, according to a Jiji Press report.
Upon giving birth, they were paid up to 198m dong (£5,621).
However, deductions were made in certain cases: women aged between 35 and 38 had 30m (£851) subtracted from their compensation, and if a preterm birth occurred before 32 weeks, a $1,000 (£743) deduction was imposed with no additional cash bonus provided.
Some surrogates even continued in the scheme as nannies, earning up to 750,000 dong (£21) per day.
To avoid detection, operatives lived in luxury apartments with high security and frequently changed locations.
The investigation also led to the detention of three Chinese nationals who entered Vietnam in May intending to collect a baby from the ring.
The rescued infants are now in the care of a shelter maintained by the Vietnam Women’s Union’s Centre for Women and Development, with support from the ministry of health’s department for maternal and child health and the Vietnam Children’s Protection Fund.
