Khanh Hoa Provincial Police have initiated criminal proceedings against two suspects in connection with the illegal transportation of more than 180,000 lobster juveniles, valued at over VND 7 billion, from Singapore to Vietnam by air.

On August 30, the Investigation Police Agency of Khanh Hoa Provincial Police initiated criminal proceedings against Stevanus Donny Kurnain, 25, an Indonesian national, and Ngo Duy Linh, 41, a resident of Khanh Hoa Province, on charges of illegally transporting goods across the border, according to Dan Tri.

Earlier, on August 17, at Cam Ranh Airport, the Economic Police Division of Khanh Hoa Provincial Police, in coordination with relevant authorities, detected suspicious signs in four pieces of checked baggage belonging to Stevanus Donny Kurnain and Linh.

Upon inspection, police discovered 112 plastic bags containing more than 180,000 lobster juveniles.

During questioning, Stevanus Donny Kurnain and Ngo Duy Linh stated that they had been in contact via WhatsApp with an unidentified individual and had agreed to transport the lobster juveniles from Singapore to Vietnam for a fee of IDR 3 million, equivalent to approximately VND 4.5 million.

They were detected and apprehended by the authorities shortly after arriving at Cam Ranh Airport while preparing to deliver the shipment. An appraisal confirmed that the entire consignment consisted of lobster juveniles, with an estimated import value of more than VND 7 billion, calculated at VND 40,000 per juvenile.

According to Tuoi Tre, none of the lobster juveniles had been declared to customs upon entry into Vietnam, nor were there any quarantine certificates, invoices, or documents proving their origin.

Khanh Hoa Provincial Police said that the smuggling and illegal transportation of lobster juveniles from overseas increases the risk of introducing pathogens, affects seed quality, potentially causes serious losses to lobster farmers, and results in losses to the State budget.

The Investigation Police Agency of Khanh Hoa Provincial Police is continuing to investigate and expand the case to identify other individuals involved.

Khanh Hoa is known for its strong marine aquaculture sector, particularly lobster farming in coastal areas such as Van Phong Bay, Nha Trang Bay, and Cam Ranh Bay, where the total number of aquaculture cages reaches into the hundreds of thousands.

As Vietnam has yet to become self-sufficient in lobster juvenile production, locally harvested seed from bays and lagoons in the province meets only around 10–15% of demand for ornate spiny lobster. The remaining supply is sourced from natural stocks in south-central provinces and imported from neighboring countries. For scalloped spiny lobster, the industry is entirely dependent on imported juveniles.

The province currently has a very large number of scalloped spiny lobster farming cages, generating demand for tens of millions of juveniles each year. However, to legally import lobster juveniles through official channels, businesses must complete all required customs declaration and quarantine procedures and transfer the imported juveniles to qualified nursery facilities for the prescribed period.

Source: VnBusiness