Vietnamese police have seized more than 320,000 used condoms that were to be illegally resold to unsuspecting customers, local media report.
Footage broadcast by state-owned Vietnam Television (VTV) this week showed dozens of large bags containing the used contraceptives scattered across the floor of a warehouse in the southern province of Binh Duong
Police seize more than 320,000 recycled condoms https://t.co/igYxp7yISg
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) September 24, 2020
Vietnam police bust ring selling ‘recycled condoms’ https://t.co/OWJTSstkI3 pic.twitter.com/QwW3CRYlYD
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 24, 2020
The footage broadcasted by VTV
It is alleged that workers in the warehouse were tasked with cleaning and drying the used condoms before reshaping them using wooden dildos then repackaging them to later be sold.
Pham Thi Thanh Ngoc, 33, the owner of the warehouse, was arrested and claimed she had been receiving the condoms once a month from an unknown person.
She allegedly cleaned, dried and sorted the condoms before selling them again to the public as if they were new, according to local news site
Over 360kg of condoms were found in the raid, the equivalent of almost 324,000 used condoms. It is unclear how many condoms had already made their way to the public, which is of a public concern as used condoms can result in STI’s and unwanted pregnancies
Provincial Market Management director Tran Van Tung said: “Condoms are classified as medical items, so we will take a look at the several laws that the owner has broken.”