On the afternoon of October 14, Hanoi City Police held a press conference on the results of the investigation and discovery of 5 typical cases and incidents of the City Police in the past time. Including the case of the production and sale of counterfeit food and food on the internet, which was busted by Team 7, Economic Police Department (PC03) - Hanoi City Police.
Through the work of grasping the situation and synchronously applying professional measures, PC03 Department determined that the target of the demolition was the factory of Hida Food Joint Stock Company, located in Den village, Hoai Duc district (Hanoi). Here, the subjects pumped tinhits to "transform" fake buffalo meat into beef under the Hidasan brand and many other high-end brands.
Searching the scene, the authorities seized 60 tons of finished meat and ingredients, including Hidasan beef (Tet dau, shake, ground beef), Hokubeef beef, especially the "WAGYU King Beef" type.
Expanding the investigation in many provinces and cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Nha Trang, Da Nang, the police seized a total of 65 tons of fake buffalo and beef, 17 tons of starch used to pump into the meat to create grease, and all processing machinery.
On October 6, 2025, the Investigation Police Agency (IPA), Hanoi City Police initiated a case, prosecuted the accused and temporarily detained 4 ringleaders including: Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao (born in 1985, General Director of Hida Company); Nguyen Thi Thuy Hoa (born in 1976, Chief Accountant); Nguyen Thi Dung (born in 1987, Production Director); Tran Hoang Phuoc (born in 1984, Director of SK Foods Vietnam Company).
According to the investigation, Tran Hoang Phuoc ordered Hida Company to produce fake buffalo meat and beef, and printed the packaging and fake labels himself and sent them to Hida for packaging.
From May 2024 until their arrest, the subjects had successfully produced and consumed about 14 tons of buffalo meat fake beef. Thao buys buffalo meat at 120,000 VND/kg, pumps the essence to create fat and sells it on the market for 400,000 - 600,000 VND/kg, illegally profiting billions of VND.
Phuoc is responsible for consumption at restaurants, hotels, supermarkets in Da Nang, Nha Trang, Ho Chi Minh City; and Thao consumes at many large restaurants in Hanoi. The fact that counterfeit goods are included in the high-end food supply chain shows the recklessness and danger of this chain.
The results of the National Testing Institute's assessment showed that 24/29 of the samples of the seized "beef" with DNA were buffalo meat. The investigation agency is assessing 17 tons of starch to determine whether it contains toxins or not, in order to clarify the level of harm to consumers' health.
At the police station, the subjects admitted to all their crimes. Currently, the Investigation Police Agency continues to expand the investigation, clarify the scale, role of the former accused and the amount of illegal profits, to strictly handle them according to the law.
