Kidney transplant racket smashed

our correspondent
LAHORE: North Cantt police on Friday arrested seven people including the ringleader of a gang involved in illegal business of kidney transplant in a rented house in Ameer-ud-din Park.

The arrested were identified as ringleader Dr Hanif and his accomplices Nadeem, Imran, Mushtaq, Sagheer, Mubashir and Ali. Police also recovered a donor labourer, a recipient and an Indonesian from the spot. SP Operations Hashmat Kamal said a man was lying unconscious on a stretcher for operation when police raided at the house.

He said police seized medical instrument used in operation. He said the gang had been running the illegal business for more than a year and they transplanted organs and kidneys to foreigners and rich people. DIG Operation Ghulam Mahmood Dogar said the accused were mainly dealing with Arab countries including Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and Syria.

He said the accused transplanted kidneys for Rs 700,000 up to one million rupees from the recipient and paid about Rs 150,000 to Rs 200,000 to the donor. The donor, who was found from the spot, was later identified as Riaz, a resident of Kasur. According to police, Riaz, in his initial statement to police, said he was referred by a friend after he discussed with him about appendix pain. Sources said Riaz had not mentioned his friend’s name.