Social media turns to a hub of illegal kidney business

Golam Mostafa Jibon: Social media especially facebook, twitter, whatsApp and messenger have now turned into a hub of illegal kidney business due to lack of proper monitoring by the authorities concerned.
The incident drew the attention of law enforcers, while five people, who were suspected involved in kidney selling and purchasing trade, were arrested recently by RAB. The law enforcers also seized several things including NID, Passport, local and foreign currencies, cheque books, seal, stamp, mobile phone, SIM cards, kidney and blood cross-matching eliments.
The arrested were identified as Shahidul Islam Mithu, 49, Mizanur Rahman, 44, Al-Mamun alias Mehedi, 27, Saimon, 28, and Russel Hossain, 24.
During the interrogation, the arrested confessed that a powerful syndicate has been established in the country centering the kidney trade. They are also involved with smuggling the kidney to neighboring countries using different border routes.
The syndicate members works in three groups. One of the group maintain communication through social media. They search for rich people, who need kidney transplantation in exchange of big sum of money. Another group works to find out poor and needy people and allures them money in exchange of kidney.
Third group carries for kidney transplantation activities after bringing the patients to different hospitals, clinics or diagnostic centers in the capital. After matching the kidney between both the parties, they complete their trade or sometime they smuggle the life saving organ of human being to neighboring countries including India.
Another gang located in the neighboring country provides supports including starting from managing donors and receiving the victim’s kidney.
They also help to travel through airport or land port.
The arrested initially admitted that they had made huge amounts of money illegally through this cycle. For each kidney transplant, they used to charge Tk 20 to 25 lakh per patient. On the contrary, they assured the kidney donor that only Tk 4 to 4.5 lakh would be paid and used to pay Tk 2 lakh in advance. After kidney transplantation, kidney donors were threatened with various ways without paying the promised money.
So far, the members of this circle have initially admitted that, they have bought and sold more than half a hundred kidneys.