The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested two key operatives of an alleged illegal kidney transplant network accused of facilitating more than 150 unlawful organ transplants and obtaining fraudulent approvals from the Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA).
According to FIA officials, the main suspect, Shabbir Hussain, was arrested in Jalalpur Bhattian, Hafizabad, while his alleged accomplice and sub-agent, Ghulam Abbas, was taken into custody from Chak No. 326/15-L in Mian Channu, Khanewal.
Investigators said the suspects allegedly recruited kidney donors by targeting financially vulnerable individuals, including laborer’s, daily wage workers, and brick kiln employees, offering them small payments in exchange for donating their organs.
The arrests come a month after the FIA Islamabad Zone detained nine individuals, including a prominent urologist and a private hospital employee, for their alleged involvement in illegal kidney transplantation and organ trafficking.
According to the investigation, the network charged transplant recipients around Rs6 million per procedure, with some cases reportedly generating up to Rs10 million.
Donors, most of whom belonged to economically disadvantaged backgrounds, allegedly received only a fraction of the amount, while the remaining funds were distributed among members of the network.
FIA officials said preliminary findings indicate that Shabbir Hussain used a network of sub-agents to identify and recruit donors from Punjab and Islamabad. Authorities believe he arranged more than 50 kidney donors for the urologist previously arrested in the case.
The agency further revealed that the network allegedly secured approvals from HOTA using forged and fraudulent documents, while mandatory clearance from the relevant evaluation committee was not obtained.
Deputy Director FIA Anti-Corruption Circle Afzal Khan Niazi said the operation extended beyond Pakistani nationals, alleging that the network also facilitated kidney transplants for patients from Afghanistan, China, and Saudi Arabia.
The FIA has launched forensic and financial investigations into records of foreign recipients and related transactions as the probe continues.
