Inside Pakistan’s horrific organ trafficking ring that sold hundreds of kidneys to wealthy

Police in Pakistan have busted an organ trafficking ring that removed kidneys from hundreds of patients, according to several media reports. The scheme was run by a doctor – who had already been repeatedly arrested for malpractice – who used a mechanic as an assistant during the surgeries. But what happened exactly? And how did police bust the ring? Let’s take a closer look: What happened? The alleged mastermind of the scheme is doctor Fawad Mukhtar. Mukhtar is accused of conducting at least 328 illegal kidney transplants – at private homes and at times without his victims’ knowledge – and selling them to wealthy persons for up to Rs 28 lakh.

As per BBC, Mukhtar had been arrested for malpractice five times previously.

However, Mukthar was released on bail in those cases. As per CNN, the case came to light after a complaint from an unnamed individual. This individual told the police he underwent an operation after being persuaded by one of the alleged gang members. Afterwards, when he saw another doctor, he was told one of his kidneys is missing. The arrested eight-man gang was said to be operating across the eastern Punjab province, Lahore as well as in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. Mohsin Naqvi, the chief minister of Punjab province, was quoted by CNN as saying, “They were able to do this in Kashmir because there is no law regarding kidney transplant, so it was easier for them to carry out the operations there.” According to a police probe, the vulnerable patients were lured from hospitals. At least three people died during the operations. As per CNN, a mechanic whose identity has not been verified assisted Mukhtar during the surgeries. Mukhtar employed the mechanic as a surgical assistant and anaesthetist. “The facts and figures that have come to us make the heart tremble,” Naqvi said at a press conference on Sunday night. “There are a lot more transplants and illegal surgeries than this. These are the ones that we have confirmed.” Pakistan and illegal rgan trade Pakistan outlawed the commercial trade of human organs in 2010, imposing a decade-long jail term and steep fines in hopes of curbing sales to overseas clients by exploitative middlemen. As per CNN, the law mandated a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and Rs 2.8 lakh fine for those found guilty of harvesting and trafficking organs.

Prior to that, hundreds of rich foreigners would come to Pakistan every year and buy kidneys from live, impoverished donors.

Kidney failure is increasingly common in rich countries, often because of obesity or hypertension, but a growing shortage of transplant organs has fuelled a black market that exploits needy donors and risks undermining voluntary donation schemes. However, in recent years, a struggling economy in Pakistan and lax enforcement of the law has seen organ trafficking making a comeback. In January, Punjab police busted another organ trafficking ring when a missing 14-year-old boy was found in an underground lab after having his kidney removed. That ring was responsible for luring young, vulnerable victims with promises of lucrative jobs and large payouts before removing their organs – mainly kidneys to sell for up to Rs 3 lakh. “It was only after we followed the evidence and leads that we discovered that there was an organ trafficking operation behind the boy’s disappearance,” Rehan Anjum, a spokesman for Punjab police, told AFP on in January. Six people were arrested in that case. “The boy told us that when he woke up there was an Arab man on the stretcher next to him, so we think that most of the clients were foreigners,” Anjum said. The gang’s victims were taken to a medical testing lab used for clandestine organ transplant surgeries in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, near the capital Islamabad. Facilities for such clandestine surgeries in Pakistan often lack proper medical equipment and standards, and patients are known to die from complications as result. “I’m just grateful that the police found him alive, otherwise they had left him for dead,” the boy’s father told AFP in Lahore, from where the boy went missing. Police said the doctors and surgeons involved in the operation had not been tracked down. With inputs from agencies