Turkish police arrest 40 to bust organ trafficking ring - reports

Sep 30, 2009, 12:43 GMT

Istanbul - Police have busted an organ trafficking mafia in Turkey, arresting 40 people in raids which also turned up a list of 39 cases of people who had sold their kidneys, the Turkish press reported Wednesday.

Nine of those arrested were in pre-trial detention after the police, acting on tips from the population, carried out raids in the northern and western parts of Turkey.

The organ traffickers paid donors more than 10,000 euros (14,600 dollars) for their kidneys and in turn sold them to recipients for some 25,000 euros, the reports said.

Police got on the trail of the traffickers after a resident of the western town of Kilacik tipped them off, saying that almost half of the town's residents had made kidney donations.

Police arrested both traffickers and potential donors who were demanding money for their organs.

The Haberturk newspaper said that police uncovered a list containing the names of 39 organ donors. In one instance, four members of a single family had sold their kidneys.

In their investigations, police were also looking into a number of cases of children who had gone missing, the reports said.

The Sabah newspaper said that among the recipients were Turks who had taken bank loans and put up their homes as security for the money to buy the kidneys.

One woman admitted buying a kidney for her father, saying that otherwise 'my father would have died before our very eyes,' the paper reported.

The reports said some 200 police were involved in the raids. People found guilty of involvement in organ trafficking face jail sentences of several years.