The "non-stop" journey of 250 tons of sick pigs
The investigation results of the Investigation Police Agency of Quang Tri Provincial Police showed that from February 2026 to May 2026, the line led by Mai Van Quang (born 1973, residing in Thanh Hoa) successfully purchased and transported more than 250 tons of diseased pigs from northern provinces such as Bac Giang, Hung Yen, Thai Binh to Quang Tri for consumption.
The subjects' tricks are extremely sophisticated but also reveal a very large loophole in traffic control. The source of pigs collected is mainly cheap, thin, weak pigs with signs of skin bleeding and red eyes due to African swine cholera infection. After collecting goods at the pig transfer location in the northern provinces, drivers drive specialized trucks to the South.
Notably, driver Nguyen Van Quy (driver of truck BKS 89A-874. XX carrying 172 pigs caught red-handed on May 19) confessed that throughout the long journey of hundreds of kilometers from the North to Quang Tri, although there were no invoices, documents or animal quarantine certificates from other provinces, he did not encounter any inspection or control from functional forces.
When entering Quang Tri territory, the subjects did not immediately take the pigs to the slaughterhouse but chose deserted areas, far from residential areas such as the old Dong Ha City Cemetery or Quan Ngang Industrial Park to transfer cars. The delivery and receipt took place quickly to avoid detection by functional forces. The "openness" on the highway has turned this route into a corridor for hundreds of tons of sick livestock to nonchalantly cross quarantine barriers.
Tighten loopholes
Lao Dong Newspaper's investigation shows that not only in the transportation stage, but also in the control stage at the final point, which is the centralized slaughterhouse, limitations are revealed. The number of sick pigs after being transferred to cars is allowed by two slaughterhouse owners at Tay Tri Centralized Slaughterhouse (Dong Ha ward, Quang Tri province) Tran Thi Ngoc Hien and Hoang Thi Mong Truyen to be driven directly to slaughter.
To deceive the veterinary force, slaughterhouse owners have taken advantage of the regulation that domestically purchased pigs do not require a quarantine paper for transportation. They declare that all diseased pigs purchased from the North are retail purchased from people in the province. When veterinary officers check dossiers, the information of the seller is only recorded superficially including the name and fake phone number, causing many difficulties in verifying the origin. Even when reminded, slaughterhouse owners also curse and threaten officers on duty.
In addition, quarantine work at slaughterhouses is currently mainly carried out by sensory methods and conventional technical measures. The lack of on-site rapid disease testing tools makes it very difficult for veterinary forces to detect and provide timely handling measures for infected pigs that have not yet developed obvious clinical symptoms. Fortunately, from vague suspicions about records and abnormal pig weights, the Quang Tri Provincial Sub-Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine proactively sent a document requesting the Provincial Police to coordinate in investigating, thereby successfully dismantling this line.
In order to thoroughly overcome the management loopholes after the serious incident above, Quang Tri Provincial People's Committee issued an urgent directive, requesting comprehensive rectification of livestock slaughtering and transportation activities. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee directed the Police, Market Management, and Veterinary forces to launch a peak period of strict control of key traffic routes, wholesale markets and gathering points.
In particular, Quang Tri province will immediately suspend operations for slaughterhouses that do not meet veterinary hygiene conditions or operate at incorrect capacity. The head of the commune-level government must be fully responsible to the Provincial People's Committee if prolonged violations occur. At the same time, the locality will consolidate grassroots veterinary forces, equip screening tools and gradually eliminate small-scale slaughter points to put food control into order and discipline.
