Pakistan police bust organ trafficking gang that removed kidneys from hundreds of victims, sold to rich

Police in Pakistan have busted an organtrafficking racket being run by an infamous doctor in the northeast part of the country as well as the eastern Punjab area. The gang reportedly removed kidneys of unsuspecting patients without their knowledge and sold them to rich clients.

Sharing further shocking details, police officials said the accused doctor, identified asFawad Mukhtar, conducted surgeries at private residencesto harvest kidneys and his associate, a car mechanic, used to give anesthesia to the victims.

Eight people have been arrested for surgically removing kidneys from hundreds of patients for wealthy people needing a transplant.

The police said that Fawad carried out 328 surgeries and sold the kidneys for prices as high as $34,000 (Rs 2.82 million), the CNN reported quoting Mohsin Naqvi, the Chief Minister of Pakistan's Punjab province.

The ringleader had previously been detained five times for professional misconduct, but he was able to secure bail each time.

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Gang's active zone

According to authorities, at least three persons had died from having their organs harvested.

The gang was believed to be particularly active in the Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK)as well as the eastern Punjab area.

The transplants were performed in private homes, often without the patient's knowledge, according to Mohsin Naqvi, the Punjab chief minister.

It is alleged that the mechanic who assisted Mukhtar helped lure vulnerable patients from hospitals.

"The facts and figures that have come to us make the heart tremble," Naqvi said during a press conference on Sunday.

"There are a lot more transplants and illegal surgeries than this. These are the ones that we have confirmed."

Pakistan's law on organ trade

Pakistan outlawedthe commercial trade of human organsin 2010. A 10-year prison sentence and significant fines were added to deter unscrupulous doctors, intermediaries, receivers, and donors selling organs to offshore clients.

However, there has been a rise in organ trafficking in the country as people struggle with low wages and poor enforcement of the law.

Punjab police had busted another organ trafficking racketthis January when amissing 14-year-old boy was found in an underground lab after his kidney was removed.