The arrest of eight Indian citizens in Colombo last month shed light on Sri Lanka’s illegal organ trade, after it was revealed six of the men had their kidneys removed as part of an alleged racket operating on the island.
The men were originally arrested by Sri Lankan police on March 3rd for allegedly overstaying their visas, a charge that has used to arrest and deport many Indians on the island. It was only later that details regarding their kidney removals were released.
The incident follows Indian police charging six doctors from the island for carrying out at least 60 illegal kidney transplants earlier this year, leading to the Sri Lankan government cancelling all transplant operations for foreigners on the island.
Indian police were also investigating four hospitals on the island, where the operations were alleged to have taken place.
In 2013, London based The Times revealed that a Sri Lankan government owned hospital chaired by former defence secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, was offering illegally trafficked kidneys to British patients.
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