According to police, the scheme operated across several southern regions of Vietnam, with the products sold in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Thap, among other locations.
At the end of July, police, working together with the city’s Department of Agriculture and Environment, detected 280 pigs that tested positive for salbutamol in three trucks. Of these, 80 animals were also infected with African swine fever (ASF) virus.
During subsequent searches of 14 farms and other related facilities in Dong Nai province, authorities found nearly 4,000 pigs with a total weight of more than 500 tonnes that also tested positive for salbutamol. The animals were destroyed.
Investigators believe salbutamol had been supplied from Thailand and Cambodia since mid-2025 and sold to pig farmers for VND 375,000 per kilogram.
The substance was allegedly mixed into feed to accelerate weight gain. According to police, pigs weighing 100–110 kg could reach 130–140 kg in around 30 days.
Investigators also claim that salbutamol use was stopped approximately 10 days before slaughter, while the animals were given liver-support products or electrolytes in an attempt to reduce residual levels of the substance.
Law enforcement officers seized more than one tonne of salbutamol, which they estimate would have been enough to add to more than 3,000 tonnes of feed.
The case also involves an employee of Dong Nai’s veterinary quarantine service, who is suspected of accepting bribes in exchange for issuing documents without proper inspections. According to investigators, pre-issued certificates and seals allowed the animals to be transported to slaughterhouses.
The investigation is ongoing, and authorities are working to identify other possible participants in the scheme.
Salbutamol is banned for use in animal feed in Vietnam, and residues in meat may pose a risk to consumer health.
PigUA.info, based on materials from dtinews.dantri.com.vn