HANOI, Vietnam — Police in Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City arrested 12 men suspected of operating a citywide ring that stole and resold about 2,700 cats for meat, Vietnamese state media said.

Police identified 39-year-old Luu Thanh Binh as the alleged leader of the network. He and 11 others were being investigated for theft, state media said Monday.

Investigators said Binh bought stolen cats, kept them at a facility in the city’s north and resold them for meat. He worked with suppliers who recruited others to ride motorcycles through residential neighborhoods between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m., hunting for cats and trapping four to 10 cats each night.

Eating dog and cat meat is not unique to Vietnam and has been practiced in parts of Asia, though it is not common practice. In Vietnam, cat meat traditionally is more commonly consumed in the north, among older generations.

The practice has declined with growing pet ownership and urbanization, and younger Vietnamese are more likely to regard dogs and cats as companion animals.

In 2024, more than 250,000 people signed a petition calling for an end to Vietnam’s dog and cat meat trade. The city of Hoi An also pledged in 2021 to end the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat.

Some believe eating cat meat brings good luck, though there is no scientific evidence for such claims.

Police raided the network on July 8 and found about 50 cats and dozens of traps, state media reported.

The suspects told investigators they had stolen and sold about 2,700 cats, the reports said. Police did not say how long the operation had been running.

Police returned 13 of the cats confiscated in the raid to their owners. A nonprofit animal rights group was caring for the others while authorities sought to identify their owners.

Under Vietnamese law, dogs and cats are considered private property, and stealing them is considered theft. Criminal prosecution generally applies when the value of the stolen property exceeds 2 million dong ($77).

In a separate raid in June, police reported they had rescued more than 400 cats. At least 40 were reunited with their owners, but dozens of dead cats were found packed in ice.