Pakistani police rescue 24 from organ trafficking gang

Trafficking victims allege they were taken to the Kidney Centre for tests

"We will remove your kidney, and you will receive 300,000 rupees [£2,300]."

Sadi Ahmed was held hostage for three months by an organ trafficking gang. In October last year, he was one of 24 people rescued by police in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Sadi Ahmed says he and his family were left penniless after he was held hostage for three months by organ traffickers

They had been imprisoned in a building in an affluent suburb, awaiting the forced removal of their kidneys. Three people are due in court later this month. They deny all involvement in illegal transplants and trafficking.

Pakistani police found 24 people imprisoned in this building awaiting the removal of their kidneys

Police say victims were lured to Rawalpindi in the hope of getting jobs. They even were tricked into going to court, under the pretence of getting them documentation to work.


In fact, the gang was creating a paper trail to provide a cover story. Their victims were held captive, for months in some cases.

Mr Ahmed told the BBC's File on 4 programme that he was taken to a commercial building, had his phone taken from him, and soon realised there was no job.

"There were 20 to 25 other persons sitting. I was told to shut up and be quiet and sit there. "About 10 minutes later, the agent arrived and said get ready as I was going in for a test.

"I asked, 'What type of a test are you taking me for? What type of work are you offering?'." The traffickers wanted to test his kidney, and told him he would be given the equivalent of £2,300 for the organ.

Mr Ahmed says he was "beaten up, not allowed to go out, we were padlocked in". "We were threatened that the police would beat us up and we would be killed."

When police raided the building, Mr Ahmed was saved just in time. Though happy to be free, while he was held captive his wife and four children struggled to survive without him, and built up debts.

He said: "I had my own property, it was taken away due to the debts. We are penniless now. We have lost our home." Police officer Yasir Mehmood says the victims were "very weak and very sad" when he and his colleagues found them, locked behind a grille.

Dr Mirza Naqi Zafar, general secretary of the Pakistan Transplantation Society, says despite a ban on commercial transplants in 2010, there has been a resurgence in the illegal trade in recent years, with as many as 100 illegal transplants happening every month.

He was due to have his kidney removed at a nearby hospital, called the Kidney Centre, a few hours later.