Cairo, Aug 23 (IANS/AKI) Egypt's national security agency arrested an alleged organ trafficking ring in Giza that illegally harvested, transplanted and transplanted human organs and trafficked human beings, a local report said on Wednesday.
Three doctors, four nurses, three hospital workers and two financial brokers were among the alleged ring's members, the Egypt Independent daily reported said on its website.
The suspects were reportedly arrested as they were about to harvest a kidney and part of a liver from one of their victims, which they planned to transplant to a patient for $10,000, according to the daily.
Prosecutors in South Giza (Greater Cairo) have ordered the arrests of four more suspected gang members, the daily said.
The gang persuaded impoverished Egyptians to undergo harvesting of their organs which were transplanted in foreign patients for a hefty profit, according to investigators
Security forces seized "large" sums of money from the alleged gang in Wednesday's operation which were allegedly derived from its organ and human trafficking rackets, the Egypt Independent said.
South Giza prosecution office ordered the suspects be held for 15 days, pending investigations, on charges of illegal harvesting and transplanting organs, human trafficking and operating an unlicenced medical facility.
In December last year, Egyptian authorities smashed an alleged 41-member trafficking ring that included 20 doctors from university teaching and public hospitals, ten nurses, nine brokers and two blood bank employees.
The suspects were ordered to stand trial over 29 operations, Egypt daily said.
--IANS/AKI
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