Kidney-Theft Bust Has India Buzzing

Ring may have done 500 illegal transplants; key suspect still loose

By Sam Gale Rosen, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 30, 2008 4:31 PM CST

(Newser) – Police exposure of a criminal ring that has illegally taken hundreds of kidneys over the past nine years has created scandal in India, reports the New York Times. Victims were mostly day laborers lured by offers of work or simply kidnapped at gunpoint. They were forcibly operated on, and their organs were sold to rich Indians and foreigners.

Police say the scale of the operation was unprecedented, the Times reports, with multiple hospitals in the Delhi area thought to be involved. The ring's mastermind, most recently known as Amit Kumar, is still at large. The Times of India calls the police's failure to capture him the sign of a possible "nexus between the organ traders and the police.”

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

Mohammed Salim, 33, second right, whose kidney was removed, recovers at city civil hospital, surrounded by his daughters and mother Saeda, left, in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, Wednesday,... (Associated Press)

Mohammed Salim, 33, whose kidney was removed, recovers at city civil hospital, in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008. Salim is one of three people who were rescued... (Associated Press)

Shakel Ahmed, 28, left,whose kidney was removed, recovers at city civil hospital in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008. Ahmed is one of three people who were rescued... (Associated Press)

Shakel Ahmed, 28, left,whose kidney was removed, recovers at city civil hospital as his mother father sit near him, in Gurgaon, on the outskirts of New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2008. Ahmed is... (Associated Press)

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow

Labourers victim of kidney racket (ndtv (YouTube))

View larger videos >>

« Prev« Prev | Next »Next »

To report an error on this story, notify our editors.

More Newser Stories

IT Guy Foils Burglar From 6 Blocks Away

Motion detector in apartment sent images of break-in to his smartphone

(NEWSER) - A burglar made a huge mistake yesterday when he decided to break into the Manhattan apartment of a computer geek who had set up a motion-detecting camera that transmitted photos directly to his smartphone, reports the New York Post . Levent Cetiner was six blocks from his home when he received an email showing a thief looting his stuff. More»

Cops: Man Steals Game Boy From Teen's Casket

He also grabbed a light and 3 games, say investigators

(NEWSER) - Now that's low. Indiana cops have busted a 37-year-old man they say swiped a Game Boy from the casket of a teen killed in a car accident. The heist occurred during viewing of the 11th-grader's body at a local funeral home, said investigators. The teen's uncle confronted the robber outside the home and recovered the Game Boy, but returned to find a Game Boy light and 3 games also missing from the casket, reports the Tribune-Democrat . Jody Lynn Bennett faces various theft counts as well as charges for abuse of a corpse and desecration of venerated objects. "He's messed up," said a relative. More»

Man Admits to Stealing Sally Ride's Flight Suit

Ex-wife snitched on sticky-fingered Texas man

(NEWSER) - File this under strange, but true: A Texas man pleaded guilty yesterday to stealing the flight suit worn by Sally Ride as she trained to be the first US woman in outer space. Calvin Dale Smith of Houston stole the suit and other NASA equipment while he was working for the division of Boeing that was, at the time, responsible for caring for NASA flight suits, notes Wired . More»

Homeless Man Lived in Library for 2 Weeks

Man, 26, helped himself to books, food

(NEWSER) - A homeless man lived unnoticed in the basement of a New Jersey library for nearly two weeks. Police said a custodian saw Charles Jones Jr. peeking out a basement window of the Ocean Township library on Friday night. They discovered several books in the basement and found the 26-year-old had taken food from the employee break room. He's charged with burglary and theft, reports the AP . (Click here to find out why a NY library called the Ghostbusters) More»

Thieves Flash Breasts to Pull ATM Job

Female crooks make boob out of customer

(NEWSER) - A couple of French female desperados flashed their breasts at a customer withdrawing funds from an ATM to distract him while they ripped him off. As his eyes were particularly drawn to one woman's chest, the other grabbed his money and ran (with her shirt down). The heist was captured on surveillance camera, but the women couldn't be identified and ... busted, reports the Telegraph . “We would advise anyone withdrawing cash from a machine to focus on what they are doing," cautioned a police spokesman. More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Kidney-Theft Bust Has India Buzzing