On December 23, information from Thanh Hoa Provincial Police said that the Economic Police Department, Provincial Police coordinated with the Traffic Police Department and Market Management Team No. 9 to inspect a tractor-trailer with license plate 76C-092.45 pulling a trailer with license plate 76R-006.30, driven by Nguyen Thanh Phuong (born in 1981, residing in Van Canh Commune, Gia Lai Province).
At the time of inspection, the authorities discovered that the vehicle was transporting 271 boxes of potato fish, with a total weight of 7.046 tons.
Working with the police, Nguyen Thanh Phuong confessed that after transporting the fruit from Tien Giang province to Lang Son province, Phuong was hired by Anh Minh VN International Company Limited (Lang Son province) to transport 372 boxes of stone- roomed potato fish, with a total weight of 9.672 tons, imported from China through Huu Nghi International Border Gate, to deliver to consumption points in the provinces from Thanh Hoa to Binh Dinh, with a transportation fee of 20 million VND.
According to the addresses provided by the company's staff, Nguyen Thanh Phuong delivered 101 boxes of potato fish, weighing more than 2 tons, to traders including Van Tien Dung (born in 1983, residing in Nam Sam Son ward), Ngo Thi Hien (born in 1977) and Le Van Long (born in 1981, all residing in Sam Son ward.
When Nguyen Thanh Phuong was preparing to continue delivering goods to other traders, he was discovered and arrested by the authorities. Inspecting the facilities that have just delivered the goods, Sam Son Ward Police coordinated with Market Management Team No. 2 to seize 181 more boxes of frozen potatoes, weighing 3.370 tons, including 101 boxes that have just been delivered and 80 boxes in stock.
According to the initial investigation results, currently imported catfish from China costs about 37,000 VND/kg and is sold on the market for about 130,000 VND/kg, much cheaper than natural catfish priced from 250,000 VND/kg, depending on the season and size, at times up to 350,000 VND/kg.
During the investigation, the authorities took potato samples and sent them to the National Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene (Ministry of Health) for testing. The results showed that all of the above potato fish contained a high concentration of formol, ranging from 90 to 105 mg/kg.
Currently, the incident is continuing to be verified and clarified.
