ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has dismantled a major illegal organ trafficking network following a high-profile raid at a prominent private hospital in the federal capital.
The operation, carried out under the directive of Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, DG FIA Usman Anwar, and Director Islamabad Zone Syed Shahzad Nadeem Bukhari, resulted in the arrest of nine individuals.
Among those apprehended are a prominent urologist and a hospital employee, both identified by investigators as central figures leading the illegal renal transplant network.
The suspects were caught while executing illegal kidney removal procedures. In addition to the primary operators, the authorities detained several suspected kidney donors and recipients, along with the hospital staff believed to be complicit in the trade. All individuals taken into custody have been moved to the FIA office for interrogation.
This breakthrough follows earlier arrests of a broader syndicate that specifically targeted vulnerable, lower-income individuals in underprivileged districts of South Punjab, including Rahim Yar Khan and Dera Ghazi Khan. Investigators revealed that the gang lured these impoverished citizens into selling their kidneys for minimal compensation, only to resell the organs to wealthy buyers at exorbitant prices.
Officials said teams were conducting further raids across the region to apprehend remaining members of the network.
