According to Pham Van Phuc, deputy head of the Customs Office at Lao Cai International Border Gate, the 20 tonnes of fish valued at VND 3 billion kept in a large truck was brought to Kim Thanh Border Gate on August 19.
"After parking the truck at the area awaiting customs procedures to import the goods into Vietnam, the driver walked back to China and never came back," Phuc said. "We've sent documents to the Chinese authorities to find the owner of the fish, but no one has arrived to reclaim the goods."
Some of the fish started to die some days later and local authorities have had to treat them using chemicals.
Head of Lao Cai Provincial Customs Department Nguyen Viet Quang said on Thursday that all the fish had died.
"We've proposed to the Lao Cai Provincial People's Committee to destroy the fish to protect the environment at the border gate," Quang said.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, it is now illegal to import fresh sturgeon into Vietnam following the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.