Nguyen Nhat Truong, 31, and Truong Lam Hung, 25, chased down a dog right into its owner's house in Cu Chi District, before tasering it and stealing it on July 20. The owner tried to chase after them but failed.
Within just a few hours the same day, the pair had managed to capture five dogs.
The house owner posted about the incident on social media as a warning to others. Police subsequently launched an investigation, resulting in the arrest of both dog thieves.
A video footage shows two dog thieves running their motorbike into a home yard to capture a dog in HCMC, July 20, 2022. Video obtained by VnExpress
At the police station, the pair said they had stolen around 6-10 dogs each night over the past two months along the peripheries of HCMC. The dogs they stole on July 20 were sold for around VND3 million ($128.38).
Vietnam consumes an estimated five million dogs a year, second only to China's 20 million. Many dogs served at restaurants are stolen pets sold to small, unregulated abattoirs, reports say.
Dog theft has become so common that many residents would turn themselves into vigilantes, with reports of dog thieves being heavily beaten by angry mobs.