Police in Vietnam Bust Factory Recycling 320,000 Used Condoms Meant for Resale

Authorities in Vietnam this week seized more than 320,000 used condoms that were being repackaged as new after cleaning.

The contraceptives weighing approximately 360 kilograms were impounded after police officers and market inspectors raided a warehouse in Binh Duong province following a tip-off from a member of the public, according to Vietnam’s State newspaper Tuoi Tre.

The owner of the factory was identified as a 34-year-old woman who said they purchased the condoms from another person. She told detectives that they had received a “monthly input of used condoms from an unknown person.”

A second woman arrested at the warehouse during the operation said that after buying the condoms, they are boiled, dried, reshaped with a wooden dildo, and repackaged for resale.

BBC reported that the woman was paid $0.17 for every kilogram of condoms she prepared for recycling.

It was not immediately established how many recycled condoms had already been sold to the public.

Footage by State-owned Vietnam Television (VTV) showed large bags containing used condoms scattered on the floor of the warehouse.