Interpol Issues Arrest Warrant For Illegal Kidney Harvest/Transplant Ring
TORONTO - The alleged ringleader of a massive kidney harvesting ring and believed to have ties to Canada is the subject of an international manhunt after Interpol issued a red notice warrant for him and one of his colleagues late Thursday.
Amit Kumar, 40, and Jeevan Rawat, 36, are the subject of red notices posted on the international policing organization’s website.
They are wanted in India on counts of “illegal transplanting of kidneys, cheating and criminal conspiracy.”
Police have alleged that Kumar is the ringleader of the kidney harvesting operation, and media reports in India quote police as saying Kumar has family in Canada and could have fled to this country.
Prem Prakash, the senior superintendent of Moradabad police, told The Hindu newspaper that Kumar has Canadian ties.
“It is only speculation that he has fled to Canada,” he said. “He has relatives in that country as one of his wives is staying there with their kids.”
Canadian officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Indian police discovered the kidney harvesting ring in Gurgaon, where they allege 500 people had their organs forcibly removed over eight years.
Police allege the kidneys were then used to provide transplants to foreigners.
The Associated Press reported that while some donors willingly sold their kidneys for as much as $2,250, many were lured to operation sites, held at gunpoint and ultimately forced to undergo the procedure.
Mohammed Salim, who was rescued during a police raid, said he was promised paid construction work as well as food and lodging, but found himself held prisoner in a house where his kidney was removed against his will.
“I don’t know how I will survive,” Salim told The Associated Press from a hospital bed. “I am the only earner in the family and the doctors said I can’t do heavy work.”
There long have been reports of poor Indians illegally selling kidneys, but the transplant racket in Gurgaon is one of the most extensive to come to light - and the first with an element of so- called medical tourism.
The low cost of medical care in India has made it a popular destination for foreigners in need of everything from tummy tucks to heart surgery.
(AP)
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