American pet owners know the gut punch of a missing cat. In Ho Chi Minh City, that fear scaled up dramatically.
Police there have prosecuted and detained 12 men accused of running an organized ring that stole and trafficked approximately 2,700 pet cats for the meat trade. The alleged ringleader is Lưu Thanh Bình, 39, from Cần Thơ. He and 11 accomplices face property-theft charges under Vietnamese law, which treats cats as private property.
According to investigators, the suspects divided into small groups and rode motorbikes through residential neighborhoods on the city’s outskirts Đông Thạnh, Hóc Môn, Tân Thới Hiệp and An Hội Tây between about 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. They used homemade or purchased traps, sometimes baited with fish, placed outside homes known to keep cats. Each group typically took four to 10 animals a night and delivered them to Bình, who stored the cats at a property in Thới An Ward before reselling them.
Police say the suspects admitted during questioning to stealing and trafficking roughly 2,700 cats in total. That figure comes from their statements, not from a physical count of recovered animals.
On July 8, 2026, officers in Đông Thạnh Commune interrupted the operation and seized 50 live cats, 55 traps, two weighing scales, two fur-removal machines, seven motorbikes, 13 mobile phones, 14 bags and about 6.7 million Vietnamese dong (roughly $257). Formal charges and detentions were announced around October 4–5.
Of the 50 recovered cats, 13 have already been returned to their owners. The rest are in the care of the HAVEPAWS Social Center while authorities continue trying to identify owners. Police have urged anyone who lost a cat in the affected areas to contact Đông Thạnh Commune Police or HAVEPAWS.
Eating cat meat is a legal activity in Vietnam, provided that the vendor holds a permit on the origin of such products. Cats that are stolen do not fall under these regulations and thus contribute to public ire. According to animal rights activists, at least a million cats are captured, stolen, or smuggled in Vietnam for purposes of eating annually. There were similar incidents in 2026 earlier this year, involving the retrieval of hundreds of cats.
Investigation is ongoing. The police are searching for the owners of any additional missing cats while requesting other parties concerned to step forth. For Americans, this case highlights how demand, lack of origin permits, and nighttime conditions can transform pets into commodities.
