Chennai: Two Nigerians arrested for kidney racket

Chennai: Two Nigerian nationals have been arrested for allegedly creating a fake Facebook page of a private kidney care centre in Erode and floating an advertisement asking for kidney donations.

Police said Collins Sandy and Ohano Steven Frank were arrested from a rented accommodation in Bengaluru this month. The Nigerian duo had come to India on student visa and were allegedly involved in kidney scam. They were charged under IPC sections (420 and 467) dealing with cheating and forgery along with sections under the Information Technology Act.

The issue came to light when a woman approached the kidney care centre in Erode and started enquiring since the racketeers had used the name of that hospital to lure people.

"In the advertisement, the Nigerians had started a Facebook page in the name of Kalyani Kidney Care Centre, in Erode. They had sought for kidney donors and had asked people to deposit Rs 15,000 in a bank account with the promise that they will be paid to Rs 3 crore once they sell their kidneys. The doctor's name in the advertisement and WhatsApp number was allegedly associated with the hospital," said Murugaiah, inspector of Erode North police.

The hospital's managing director, M. Prabakar, said that they started receiving phone calls from random people a few days back expressing interest to sell their kidneys. Initially, the hospital authorities explained to the callers that they should not sell their kidneys. Then they grew suspicious. Later, a woman from Hyderabad contacted a senior doctor directly stating that she had even deposited the amount and gave the WhatsApp number. A complaint was lodged by the hospital.

After tracking the number, a special team of police arrested the duo from Bengaluru and recovered several ATM cards, bank passbooks, mobile phones, laptops and a car. Further investigations are on.