The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is likely to take over the organ trafficking case, registered by the Nedumbassery police in view of reports that the youth arrested by the Kerala police on Sunday has links with an international racket involved in human organ trade.
A youth, Sabith Nasser, who is allegedly an agent of an organ trafficking racket was arrested at the Cochin International Airport on Sunday by the Nedumbassery police.
Sabith was taken into custody from Kochi international airport by the Kerala police when he was returning from Iran via Kuwait. He was later arrested under section IPC 370 (human trafficking) and section 19 (commercial dealings with human organs) of Transplantation of Human Organs Act.
Meanwhile, central agencies have also begun probing his connections to international organ mafia groups. The NIA and Intelligence Bureau(IB) interrogated the accused Sabith yesterday. The NIA is also investigating whether the incident has any terrorist connections.
Many crucial aspects of the case fall outside the jurisdiction of the state police. In this circumstance, the case may be probed by the NIA.
Police officials revealed that they accessed critical information regarding organ trafficking from the phone of the accused . He reportedly made victims believe that it was legal to donate organs in exchange for money. He first took the victims to Kuwait and from there to Iran. The surgery to remove the organs was performed at a hospital in Iran.
In this connection, the Kerala police have formed a special investigation team to investigate the organ trafficking case. The team , consisting of 10 members, is led by Ernakulam Rural SP.
The accused, Sabith Nasar, testified that his involvement with the organ mafia began in Hyderabad, where he connected with smuggling gangs. He also informed the police that most organ traffickers involved were youths from Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
It has been reported that Sabith has crucial links with an international organ trafficking network extending to Sri Lanka, Kuwait, and Iran.