ED Conducts Searches at Private Hospitals in Kerala Over Organ Trade Probe
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out searches at several leading private hospitals across Kerala as part of its investigation into alleged money-laundering linked to an organ trade racket. The racket was uncovered by the Kerala Police in Kochi last month.
Sleuths from the ED's Kochi zonal unit conducted simultaneous raids at multi-specialty hospitals in Ernakulam, Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, and Kottayam districts. The searches focused on documents including donor registries, transplant records, internal approvals, and financial records. The ED is examining whether hospital staff colluded with the prime accused, Mohammed Najeeb Kallatra, a native of Kasaragod, in facilitating illegal transplants.
Representatives of hospital managements and doctors may be questioned if evidence of collusion, oversight, or negligence emerges. While hospitals have maintained that all transplantation procedures were carried out in accordance with regulations, investigators are probing whether external agents manipulated the approval process.
The ED's action is part of a broader probe into the alleged organ trafficking network. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Kerala Police is independently investigating criminal conspiracy, forgery, and possible human trafficking angles. The ED is also examining whether hospitals engaged in financial transactions with any of the accused.
According to police, the racket involved exploiting financially distressed individuals as organ donors. At least 20 dubious transplants are suspected to have been carried out in various hospitals across Kerala. Donors were allegedly lured with payments of ₹5 lakh to ₹10 lakh, while recipients paid between ₹20 lakh and ₹25 lakh. Middlemen allegedly pocketed the difference.
The accused are also alleged to have forged documents to secure statutory approvals required for organ transplantation. Doctor seals, medical certificates, and hospital letterheads were reportedly forged. Blank letterheads in the names of MPs and MLAs were allegedly misused to fabricate claims of kinship or altruistic relationships between donors and recipients.
Mohammed Najeeb Kallatra was arrested by a Kerala Police team from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. He is accused of coordinating the inter-district organ trafficking network and faces nearly a dozen criminal cases. His wife Rasheeda and several associates have also been arrested for their alleged roles in forgery and in identifying and recruiting organ donors from Ernakulam and Kollam districts.
