Hyderabad: In a startling revelation, it was found that a doctor from the city was the mastermind of an international kidney racket operating out of Kerala.
The operation came to light when the Kerala police arrested one Sabit Nasir at Kochi airport soon on arrival from Iran. He spilled the beans about the racket and its functionaries. Nasir said that three persons from Hyderabad, including a prominent doctor, were at the helm of the illegal network.
The special investigation team (SIT) headed by Ernakulam Rural SP Vaibhav Saxena immediately travelled to Hyderabad to further investigate and apprehend the suspects.
According to police, the gang has been exploiting vulnerable youth from Karnataka and Telangana by luring them with promises of substantial financial rewards for selling their kidneys.
The victims were provided passports and visas for travelling to Iran, where donation of organs by those unrelated to the recipients, is legal. After surgery, the donors are kept in an apartment for recovery before they are sent back home.
The racket came to light when one of the victims died, prompting his family to lodge a complaint with the authorities. The subsequent investigation led to the arrest of Nasir, who confessed to transporting around 40 young individuals from Bengaluru and Hyderabad to Iran, where their kidneys were sold. The gang allegedly promised up to `20 lakh for each kidney but ultimately paid the donors only `6 lakh after deducting various ‘expenses’.
Dr Anil Kumar, a consultant senior physician in the city, spoke about the increasing number of such illegal activities. "This is a grave issue and calls for immediate attention. We need to raise awareness among the public about the dangers of falling prey to such schemes. Strict laws and severe punishments must be enforced to deter heinous characters," he said.
The investigation is now focussed on tracing and arresting the other two brokers involved in the racket.
