Ho Chi Minh City Police arrest mastermind behind a network of shell companies engaged in illegal waste disposal

Ho Chi Minh City Police have arrested Lê Thị Thùy Trang (born 1977) and six accomplices for 'environmental pollution'. Trang is the mastermind and leader who used multiple entities to sign contracts for processing ordinary waste in Ho Chi Minh City and southern provinces. The wastes include sludge from wastewater treatment, coal ash, lime powder from sources in paper production, textile dyeing, leather tanning, granite processing, seafood processing, and beverages. Trang directed and operated several companies, collecting waste from customers but not transferring or processing it according to regulations; tens of thousands of tons of waste were illegally dumped. The case is complex, involving many persons and locations, requiring rapid investigation. In late March 2026, the Environmental Police Department, in coordination with other police units, raided six sites in Ho Chi Minh City and Dong Thap Province, seizing more than $50,000 in cash, nearly VND 2 billion, dozens of land ownership documents, 12 CPUs, and hundreds of cartons containing contracts, ledgers and accounting records. Investigators determined that Trang’s companies dumped waste at 11 sites, totaling more than 20,160 tons of solid waste. Trang is identified as the mastermind, who established and led the companies but did not appear as the legal owner; staff were registered as legal representatives. To legitimize invoices, Trang arranged for documents to show costs of 3.2–6% of the pre-tax value. The operation formed a closed ecosystem with shell environmental firms holding licenses to process waste, signing contracts at low prices and collaborating with collect-and-transport firms to move waste to disposal sites. Waste collected from customers in sectors like textiles, tanning, paper, seafood, and granite was often not processed but dumped directly or moved to an appropriate processing company; in some cases, the operator used a trick to mislead authorities by routing waste to a company with processing functions. The business process: Trang identified customers, negotiated price, and passed customer data, pricing, and goods to the accounting department. After signing, staff contacted customers and scheduled drivers to haul waste to processing or disposal sites. To maximize illicit profits, Trang instructed drivers to collect waste from customers that had contracts with certain processing companies, forming a closed loop. This case should serve as a warning to organizations pursuing profit at any cost, which harms the environment; authorities urge customers to choose reputable licensed waste processors and promise strict penalties for illegal dumping. Read more links follow.