Illegal organ transplant ring busted

FIA arrests two key suspects, exposing a wider network involving doctors, agents

RAWALPINDI:

The FIA Anti-Corruption Circle Islamabad has achieved a major breakthrough against an illegal human kidney transplant network by arresting two key suspects, with investigations revealing significant new details.

Officials said FIA teams arrested the main agent, Shabbir Hussain, from Jalalpur Bhattian in Hafizabad district, while his close associate and alleged sub-agent, Ghulam Abbas, was apprehended from Khanewal in connection with case number 16 of 2026.

The suspects are accused of recruiting financially vulnerable individuals by luring them with small payments to act as kidney donors for an organised illegal transplant network. Earlier, FIA had also arrested Dr Nadir and members of his team in Islamabad over their alleged involvement in unlawful kidney transplant procedures.

Ongoing investigations indicate that Dr Nadir may have been involved in around 187 illegal kidney transplants, with further inquiries underway into multiple aspects of the case. Officials said the network charged recipients between Rs6 million and Rs10 million per transplant, while donors—mostly poor and underprivileged individuals—were paid only a fraction of that amount.

Investigators further revealed that Shabbir Hussain, through sub-agents, targeted labourers, daily wage workers and other disadvantaged groups across Punjab and Islamabad, convincing them to donate kidneys in exchange for financial incentives. He is suspected of facilitating more than 50 donors for Dr Nadir.

The inquiry has also uncovered that the group allegedly used forged and fraudulent documents to obtain approvals from the Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA), without proper legal clearance from the relevant evaluation committee. FIA is probing this aspect to identify all individuals involved in the forgery and regulatory violations.

Officials added that the network was not limited to Pakistani citizens, as it is also suspected of involvement in kidney transplants involving Afghan, Chinese and Saudi nationals. Financial records and related data are currently under forensic and legal review.

Shabbir Hussain has a prior criminal history with multiple FIA cases registered against him, but had previously managed to evade arrest. Officials described his capture as a significant milestone in the national crackdown on illegal organ trade.

FIA said operations will continue against all facilitators, agents and financial backers involved in the network, and assured that all accused will be brought to justice through lawful prosecution.