LAHORE: A Jordanian woman lost her life at the hands of the doctors arrested in the illegal organ trade scandal in the city, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) said on Sunday.

Read: Of human organs, desperate poverty and greed

“During investigation, it transpired that Jordanian-national Salma died during illegal kidney transplantation carried out by Dr Fawad Mumtaz and Dr Altamash Kharal. Her fake death certificate was prepared by Dr Kharal from a private hospital at Thokar Niaz Beg and the body was kept in another private hospital in Defence before sending it back to Jordan,” FIA Lahore Deputy Director Jamil Ahmed Khan Mayo told Dawn on Sunday.

To a question about booking these doctors for murder, the official said: “We are considering registering a separate first information report against the arrested doctors for allegedly killing two locals and a foreigner.”

Mr Mayo said foreign nationals — Jordanian, Libyan, Saudi and Omani — who had come here for kidney transplant stayed at two hotels in Gulberg.

“We have gathered the record of these nationals. We have got information about more doctors and agents involved in this crime and will likely arrest them this week,” he added.

Meanwhile, the FIA on Sunday arrested another doctor involved in the scandal.

“Dr Zafar Javed, anaesthesia specialist of Mayo Hospital, involved in illegal kidney transplantation and active partner of Dr Fawad Mumtaz has been arrested. The suspect had fled to his native district Sanghar in Sindh after the arrest of his business partner. The FIA corporate crime circle team Lahore raided his location and apprehended him. He was involved in the crime in Gujrat and Mirpur in Azad Jammu and Kashmir,” an FIA official said.

Two weeks ago, the FIA had caught red-handed Dr Mumtaz, Dr Kharal, paramedical staffers Umer Draz and Muhammad Shahzad during a raid at EME Society near Thokar Niaz Beg while they were performing a kidney transplant on two donors and as many Omani national recipients. The racket has been operative in other parts of the country also.

Subsequently, the FIA also arrested two agents and three accomplices of the arrested doctors.

Published in Dawn, May 15th, 2017