Punjab police bust organ traffickers preying on brick kiln workers

LAHORE: Police on Monday claimed to have busted an inter-provincial gang involved in illegally harvesting organs from vulnerable brick kiln workers.

Saddar Division SP Sidra Khan told Dawn her teams had arrested three members of the racket, who were part of the gang operating in parts of Punjab and Islamabad, performing illegal organ transplants at a farm house.

She said the exact location of the farm house in the federal capital and the identity of the medics or doctors involved in this illegal practice was yet to be traced.

The three members of the gang arrested by police were identified as Zulfiqar, Raza Masih and Liaqat, all residents of Lahore.

Of the three suspects, Raza Masih is thought to have played a key role, while the two other suspects would visit brick kilns and try to lure victims to a designated spot in Lahore, where they were handed over to their ‘boss’, Raza.

SP Khan told Dawn that most of the people trapped by the three suspects were residents of Raiwind City, an area housing several brick kilns, where thousands of poor labourers earned their livelihood.

“They used to target the Raiwind city’s brick kiln workers being low paid with the prime aim to exploit them for being poor,” she said, adding that the suspects used to lure their victims by offering them jobs with handsome salaries.

“Here Raza’s job begins, as he used to offer the poor kiln workers attractive jobs with handsome salaries,” the SP said, adding that after finalisation of the deal between the two sides, Masih shifted them to Rawalpindi for medical tests, saying these were mandatory prior to interviews for the jobs.

Then, another team from the gang would transport the victims to an unknown location in Islamabad, she said, adding that most of the victims questioned by Lahore police told them that the suspects used to spend several hours on the road.

They were taken to a farmhouse, where they were kept by the gang for surgical procedures, i.e. removal of their kidneys or other organs.

The SP said that the police found deep cuts on the sides of the bodies of several victims, tell-tale signs that their kidneys had been removed.

“This crime is highly regrettable at all levels as the suspects not only exploited the rights of the poor kiln workers, but they also removed their critical organs without their consent,” Ms Khan said.

She said the suspects used to pay anywhere between Rs100,000 and Rs200,000 to the victims.

The SP further said that Section 336 of the Pakistan Penal Code has also been mentioned in the FIR to ensure the punishment to the suspects from the court of law.

“Whoever, by doing any act with the intention of causing hurt to any person, or with the knowledge that he is likely to cause hurt to any person, causes itlaf-i-salahiyyat-i-udw of any person, shall, in consultation with the authorised medical officer, be punished with qisas.

“If the qisas is not executable, keeping in view the principles of equality in accordance with the injunctions of Islam, the offender shall be liable to arsh and may also be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years as ta’zir,” reads the Section 336 of the PPC.

She said that prime suspects have been handed over to the investigation police for further action.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2023