On Saturday, the Kerala police announced that they had apprehended the alleged mastermind of the global network of organ harvesting human trafficking.
According to Ernakulam Rural SP Vaibhav Saxena, Pratapan, also known as 41-year-old Ballamkonda Ram Prasad, was purportedly the mafia’s mastermind and was holed up in a Hyderabad hotel.
Pratapan, an Andhra Pradesh native, was taken into custody by a special investigation team of the Kerala police, according to the police.
The police said that according to preliminary information received by it, many people have carried out kidney transplantation-related transactions through the Andhra residents.
The victims of the organ trafficking operation were from rural areas and the organs were allegedly removed in Iran, police said in a statement.
Pratapan had first got in touch with the organ trafficking mafia to donate his kidney, but as he suffered from some diseases, his organ could not be taken, it claimed.
Later, he joined the group, became their main person and contacted organ recipients through social media, police further claimed.
He would send the donors from India to Iran where they were received by one Sabith Nasar, who is already in police custody, the statement said.
According to the report, Nasar returned the donors to India after the organs were donated.
According to the statement, in addition to Nasar and Pratapan, police have also apprehended Sajith Shyam, who is thought to be in charge of the gang’s finances.
Nasar, who was detained from Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) two weeks ago after receiving a tip from central agencies, is a resident of Valappadu in the Thrissur district.
The Transplantation of Human Organs Act of 1994 and applicable sections of the Indian Penal Code have been used to charge each of the accused.
A large team led by the Ernakulam Rural SP has begun a thorough investigation into the matter, according to the statement.
