LAHORE // Pakistani authorities have uncovered an illegal organ trade ring, arresting two doctors and their three associates, an official has said.
The doctors ran an illegal clinic from a house in the eastern city of Lahore, said Mohammad Hammad from Pakistan’s federal investigation agency. The suspects appeared before a court on Monday.
Mr Hammad said they were arrested during a Sunday raid on the clinic, where a donor and a recipient waiting for a kidney transplant were also detained.
The recipient had paid 5 million rupees (Dh18.4m), with the donor only due to receive 130,000 rupees for giving up a kidney.
Pakistan has introduced strict laws to curb organ trade in a country where media reports suggest that scores of people sell their kidneys each year – usually to pay off debts.
* Associated Press
