A man in Nghe An province who spent billions of VND buying illegally smuggled goats has been sentenced to over 3 years in prison.
To facilitate his goat trade, Le Van Nguyen sought out various sources of supply. Nguyen then entered Laos, spending nearly 1 billion VND to buy goats. However, instead of using the official route, he hired people to smuggle nearly 500 goats across the border.
Spending billions of dong to buy smuggled goats.
Le Van Nguyen (born in 1995), residing in Luong Son commune (Nghe An province), works as a goat trader. To supply the market, Nguyen usually buys goats from southern provinces and brings them back to Nghe An for sale. Later, after researching, he learned that goats from Laos were more competitively priced, so he decided to go abroad to find a source of supply.
In late May 2025, Nguyen entered Laos and met a man named Hieu (a Vietnamese national doing business in Laos) to ask for his help in finding a large quantity of goats. Hieu agreed to help find a source of goats, while Nguyen would be responsible for agreeing on the price, deposit, payment, and transportation procedures. Within two months, Hieu had a local person gather enough goats and then informed Nguyen.
To ensure the transportation of goats from Laos to Vietnam, on July 13, 2025, Le Van Nguyen hired Ly Tong Cai (born in 1971, residing in Nam Can commune) to guide and transport the goats to a collection point in Tien Tieu village, Nam Can commune, for 70,000 VND per goat. In addition, Nguyen also hired two drivers to transport the goats with him to Laos.
To legitimize the illegal cross-border livestock trade, Nguyen told Cai to create sales contracts to present when authorities requested verification of the goats' origin. Ly Tong Cai then hired several Laotians to lead the goats along streams and the border between the two countries before bringing them into Vietnam. For goats that were too weak to climb mountains on their own, Cai hired people to carry them for 100,000 dong per animal.
On the morning of July 16th, after the goats were gathered at a location in Tien Tieu village, Nam Can commune, Le Van Nguyen had people load them onto pickup trucks to transport them home. While en route, two trucks were stopped and inspected by authorities.
At this time, Nguyen was unable to present valid origin documents for the goats on the two trucks, had no customs declaration procedures, and no quarantine certificates for the goats. The investigating agency determined that Le Van Nguyen had smuggled 470 goats with a total weight of over 9 tons, valued at nearly 1 billion VND.
A costly lesson
For the aforementioned offenses, defendant Le Van Nguyen was recently prosecuted and brought to trial for "Smuggling," while Ly Tong Cai was prosecuted for "Illegally transporting goods across the border." During the trial, both defendants admitted to their crimes.
Defendant Nguyen testified that he went to Laos to gather goats for purchase in large quantities because they were cheaper than in Vietnam. At this point, the presiding judge questioned why, since goats are animals that are legally permitted to be bought and sold and brought into Vietnam with all the necessary documents and quarantine certificates, and are not subject to import taxes, he didn't obtain the necessary paperwork and instead chose a method prohibited by law. After a moment of silence, defendant Nguyen explained that he didn't know how to handle import procedures and feared difficulties during transportation, so he hired Cai to bring them into the country illegally.
Defendant Cai confessed that he agreed to bring the herd of goats from across the border into Vietnam because of greed. Cai's method involved hiring Laotians to herd the goats through streams, ravines, and forests to enter Vietnamese territory. To avoid detection by authorities, Cai had his men carry out this act at night. Cai admitted that he lived near the border area and was familiar with the terrain, so he agreed to herd the goats for Nguyen.
Regarding the goats that Nguyen bought and brought back from Laos, the authorities later took samples for testing. The conclusion was that the goat samples were disease-free and met the requirements for import into Vietnam. Following this information, the defendant expressed remorse for his actions. His actions not only violated the law but also resulted in a significant financial loss. He considers this a valuable lesson in business: always act within the law to avoid future consequences.
Through this trial, the panel of judges also reminded people about the importance of complying with legal regulations in business. Don't let a lack of understanding or intentional wrongdoing lead to financial loss, legal violations, and even imprisonment.
Regarding this case, the panel of judges determined that the defendants' actions violated the law, infringing upon the economic management order and political security situation in the border area, and therefore required strict punishment. However, some mitigating circumstances were also considered for the defendants, such as surrendering, making sincere confessions, and the fact that defendant Nguyen has relatives who contributed to the revolution. After considering all aspects of the case, the court sentenced Le Van Nguyen to 3 years and 6 months in prison for "Smuggling," and defendant Ly Tong Cai to 2 years in prison for "Illegally transporting goods across the border."
