Pakistan dismantles organ trafficking ring of hundreds of people

CNN news agency reported that Pakistani police have arrested eight suspects in an illegal surgery ring that removed hundreds of kidneys from patients to sell to rich people in need of organ transplants.

According to Mr. Mohsin Naqvi, Chief Minister of Pakistan's Punjab province, the leader of the gang illegally harvesting human organs is Dr. Fawad Mukhtar.

Mukhtar was a plastic surgeon at Lahore General Hospital but was fired. Mr Naqvi said that during the surgery, Fawad was assisted by a mechanic who was in charge of anesthesia.

Mukhtar is accused of performing 328 kidney removal surgeries on people, each kidney being sold to customers for up to 10 million Pakistani rupees ($34,000).

The gang lured patients from hospitals and performed surgeries in Lahore’s Taxila area and Pakistan-administered Kashmir. “They could operate easily in Kashmir, as there are no laws related to kidney transplants,” Naqvi said.

Officials have recorded at least three deaths from organ harvesting and are verifying the figures. "There are certainly more transplants that have been performed, the numbers we have given are confirmed cases," Mr Naqvi added.

Fawad was arrested five times, but was later released and continued his illegal activities. Mr. Naqvi stressed that some patients did not even know their kidneys were being harvested.

Pakistani police spent nearly two months investigating after a man came forward to report that he had been persuaded by a member of Fawad’s gang to seek private treatment. He then went to another doctor for treatment, where he was told he had lost a kidney.

Pakistan made human organ trafficking illegal in 2007. The law was strengthened in 2010, making harvesting and trafficking of human organs punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 1 million rupees ($3,400).

Before the law was passed, Pakistan was a hub for organ trafficking for foreigners and wealthy Pakistanis seeking transplants. Kidneys were bought and sold openly. Many poor people sold their kidneys to make a living. Local media reported that illegal kidney transplants had returned in recent years.

In January 2023, Punjab police busted another organ trafficking ring when a missing 14-year-old boy was found in an underground lab. He had a kidney removed.

Minh Hoa (according to VietNamNet, Ho Chi Minh City Women's Newspaper)

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