Photo: IANS
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out searches at several hospitals and residential premises in Kerala as part of a money laundering investigation into an alleged organ donation racket involving forged documents and illegal transplant arrangements.
The searches were conducted at five locations across Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam districts from the early hours of the day, according to officials.
The ED began its investigation after police registered multiple FIRs in different districts against a suspected network allegedly involved in facilitating unauthorised organ donations over the past few years.
Investigators found that the accused allegedly operated as middlemen between donors, recipients and hospitals, collecting large amounts of money for arranging organ transplants. Based on the police findings, the ED registered a money laundering case, The New Indian Express reported.
Officials said the searches focused on hospitals that had allegedly carried out financial transactions with the main accused, Najeeb. In Kochi, three locations were searched as part of the operation.
The raids, which began around 6 am, involved scrutiny of financial records, bank transactions and medical documents related to organ donation procedures.
Police investigations revealed that organ donation approvals require multiple levels of verification, including certificates and clearances from authorities such as police officials, local bodies, doctors, MLAs and MPs. The accused allegedly used forged documents to bypass these mandatory procedures.
According to police records, the alleged network had been active since August 2023 and reportedly created fake documents, including hospital letterheads, police clearance certificates and recommendation letters in the names of legislators and police officials.
The gang was also accused of forging recommendation letters attributed to several doctors. Cases have been registered in various districts as the alleged operation was spread across Kerala.
The prime accused, Najeeb from Kasaragod, was arrested by police in Uttar Pradesh last month.