Police bust syndicate that lured people via social media to sell their kidneys

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Jakarta: Indonesian police are investigating the illegal trade of human organs involving police and immigration officers who were accused of helping traffickers send 122 Indonesians to a hospital in Cambodia to sell their kidneys.

Indonesian authorities arrested 12 people, including a police officer and an immigration officer, on July 19, said Jakarta police director for general crimes Hengki Haryadi. Police will continue to crack down on human smuggling syndicates conducting the illegal trade of human organs, he said.

Indonesian police officers escort suspects and display the items of evidence during a press conference at Jakarta police headquarters.Credit: AP

Haryadi said all 122 victims, including factory workers, teachers and executives, had returned to Indonesia, and that police were still searching for a number of other victims whose testimony would be required by investigators.

“Most of the victims lost their jobs during the pandemic and they agreed to sell their organs because they needed money,” he said, adding that six of the victims were still under the observation of doctors.

Nine of the suspects were former organ trade victims who were accused of luring people from across Indonesia through social media into having their kidneys removed in Cambodia. A tenth suspect was accused of sending them to Preah Ket Mealea Hospital in Cambodia’s capital, Phnom Penh, for kidney transplant surgery.

Haryadi said the turnover of the illegal trade in human organs since 2019 by the group of suspects totaled about 24.4 billion rupiah ($2.4 million), while each victim was promised 135 million rupiah ($13,275).

A low-ranking police officer in Bekasi near Jakarta, an immigration officer in Bali, and 10 traffickers – three of whom were arrested in Cambodia – were part of a human trafficking ring that preyed on vulnerable job seekers, Haryadi said.

The immigration officer from Bali was accused of abusing his power and falsifying documents for victims to travel overseas and received at least 3 million rupiah ($295) for each person he smuggled to Cambodia.

The suspects were charged with violating Indonesia’s human trafficking law and face a maximum 15 years in prison and a fine of up to 600 million rupiah ($59,000).

The police officer from Bekasi city police, identified only with the initial M, allegedly received 612 million rupiah ($60,000) for helping the traffickers move from place to place to avoid police investigation, and he is also accused of obstructing the investigation. Under Indonesia’s 2007 Human Trafficking Law, the two officers face penalties of up to five years in prison if found guilty.

“There have been kidney trafficking transactions at the Cambodia’s state-run Preah Ket Mealea Hospital,” said Krishna Murti, head of the Indonesian National Police’s international relations division. “We have been communicating and closely cooperating with the Cambodian police.”

The World Health Organisation first prohibited payments for organs in 1987 and many countries subsequently codified the prohibition into their national laws. WHO estimated in 2008 that 5 per cent of all transplants performed worldwide were illegal, and living donor kidneys is the most commonly reported form of organ trade.

Aside illegal trade in human organs, cybercrime, human trafficking and labour abuse still abounds in South-East Asia.

Most recently, authorities in the Philippines staged a major raid last month and rescued more than 2700 workers from China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia and more than a dozen other countries who were allegedly swindled into working for fraudulent online gaming sites and other cybercrime groups.

In May, the leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in a summit at Indonesia’s Labuan Bajo agreed to increase cooperation in border management, investigation, law enforcement and prosecution, as well as repatriation of victims.

They also urged that national prevention efforts be improved, including better public awareness campaigns and increased use of advanced technology.

AP

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