The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday chargesheeted four accused in the international organ trade racket which was busted by the Kerala Police after a man returning from Iran was detained by immigration officials at the Cochin international airport in Nedumbassery early this year.
In a press release, the NIA said the racket was operating under the guise of medical tourism. While three of the accused, Sabith Korukulath Nasar, Sajith Shyam, and Bellamkonda Ram Prasad, have been arrested, the fourth accused, Madhu Jayakumar, remains absconding. All the four have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the agency said.
The NIA said the accused were involved in inducing gullible youth into donating their organs for money and trafficking the organs to foreign countries. “They would identify prospective organ donors in India to exploit them by offering them money through agents and through social media,” the NIA investigation revealed.
Indian patients
The gang also approached Indian patients in need of transplantation and charged around ₹50 lakh from them to facilitate organ transplantation in Iran. The NIA said the racket made the donors and recipients believe that organ trade was legal in Iran.
“Investigations further revealed that the accused had forged documents, including seals and signatures of various offices and officers of the government, to facilitate the illegal organ trading,” the NIA said.
The agency had taken over the case from the Nedumbassery police in Ernakulam on July 3 and investigation into the case is ongoing.