Kidney trade gang busted

Over 90 victims come forward following arrests

LAHORE:

Police have arrested three suspected members of a gang involved in more than 90 illegal kidney transplants.

According to police officials, the gang sold kidneys for Rs2.5 million to Rs5 million. Saddar SP Sidra Khan announced in a news conference on Monday that the suspects had been arrested by the Satto Katla police.

The apprehended suspects— Raza, Liaquat and Zulfikar— were allegedly taking advantage of poverty of residents of remote villages, enticing them with money and promises of job to procure their kidneys.

The arrested men handed over the victims to one Dr Adil who allegedly used to take them to a farmhouse in Islamabad, where their kidneys were extracted.

The official said the money was paid to Raza who kept a commission and distributed the rest of the amount among the victims.

SP Sidra Khan said the promised payments had not been made to the victims after transplantation in some instances.

One of the victims, Akram Rehmat, had complained to the police after he had not paid the amount promised by the suspects, leading to their arrests.

Read: Gang behind 328 illegal transplants busted

Investigations revealed that the suspects were selling the kidneys extracted from the victims for up to Rs5 million, the police official said, adding that the gang had exploited more than 90 people.

It was also discovered that the gang had conducted kidney extractions under the guise of medical tests for job placement, preying particularly on the poor and brick kiln workers.

The arrested suspects are residents of Raiwand and Thokar Niaz Baig in Lahore and they were apprehended with the help of phone Call Detail Records (CDR) and other evidence.

Chung ASP Kamil Mushtaq said the suspects had been found possessing the identity cards and medical reports of the victims.

Over 90 victims of the gang have come forward, but the number is likely to increase.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 5^th, 2023.