Nguyen Van Long, 35, is held at a police station in Ha Tinh Province,
central Vietnam, February 21, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Gia Han. 

A man was arrested in the north central Ha Tinh Province Friday for stealing 15 dogs in one night. 

Nguyen Van Long, 35, and his unnamed younger brother rode on a motorbike with ropes, bags and tasers from the northern Quang Ninh Province to Ha Tinh on February 13, said Ha Tinh police.

They then stole 15 dogs from multiple families along the 1A National Highway and sold them to Le Quang Phung in Ha Tinh, police said.

From a tip-off, the police managed to track down the two brothers about a week later. Long’s younger brother however has died before the arrest. The cause of death has not been revealed.

Long is now being investigated for theft, while Phung is being investigated for buying properties obtained by crime.

Vietnam consumes an estimated five million dogs a year, second only to China's 20 million. Many dogs cooked at restaurants are stolen pets sold to small, unregulated abattoirs.

Dog theft is treated as a crime only when the number of dogs stolen is valued at more than VND2 million ($86). Vietnam has no law against trading in and consuming dog meat.