Five Arrested as FIA Uncovers Illegal Kidney Transplant Network

The Federal Investigation Agency has arrested five people after uncovering an alleged illegal commercial kidney-transplant network operating from private locations in Islamabad and Peshawar. Authorities also recovered Rs1 million in cash, seized three vehicles and froze the transfer of two properties valued at Rs87.5 million during the investigation.

The operation was carried out jointly with the Human Organ Transplantation Authority at a premises in Islamabad’s PWD Society. Investigators said they discovered that a kidney transplant had allegedly been performed there in violation of Pakistan’s transplant laws. Three suspects were detained during the raid, while two others were arrested later.

A court granted investigators seven days of physical remand for the five suspects. The case was registered under Sections 9, 10 and 11(a)(ii) of the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 2010, along with Sections 34, 419 and 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code.

According to investigators, the kidney recipient allegedly paid Rs3 million for the procedure. Agents had reportedly arranged to pay the donor Rs340,000 from a promised amount of Rs400,000, while the remaining Rs60,000 was to be divided among three intermediaries as commission.

Authorities allege that members of the network performed transplant procedures inside residential properties without the required medical qualifications or certification. The group allegedly obtained tissue typing, cross-match, panel-reactive antibody and human leukocyte antigen tests by using false referral documents and submitting donor samples under the names of recipients’ relatives.

The alleged method was designed to make unrelated donors appear to be close family members approved for transplantation. Investigators also claimed that dialysis was arranged through a hospital technician and that patients whose condition deteriorated after surgery were transferred to another medical facility.

The network reportedly included agents, a doctor, a nurse, an anaesthesia provider, a medicine supplier, a laboratory-testing facilitator and a dialysis provider. Its suspected operating locations included PWD Society, Bahria Town Phase 4 and Peshawar, indicating that the investigation may extend beyond a single property or city.

Officials are also examining whether proceeds from the alleged transplant operation were used to purchase real estate. One suspect reportedly acquired a 10-marla house in Media Town for Rs62.5 million, while another bought a five-marla property in Jinnah Garden Phase I for Rs25 million. Notices issued under the FIA Act have temporarily frozen their transfer.

Banks have been asked to provide the suspects’ financial records, and separate money-laundering proceedings are being considered. Investigators also seized a Changan Oshan X7 and two Honda Civic cars and asked the excise authorities to block their transfer and registration.

Teams representing the transplant authority, the Islamabad Healthcare Regulatory Authority and the Drug Regulatory Authority inspected the premises and are expected to submit separate findings. The facility has been sealed, while raids are continuing to locate other suspected members of the network and determine the scale of its operations.