NOWSHERA: The Federal Investigation Agency busted an illegal kidney transplant racket in Pabbi area here early on Tuesday and arrested a doctor and his team.

The development came as an FIA team from Multan raided the privately-owned Dua Medical Centre on the main Peshawar-Nowshera Grand Trunk Road near Pabbi Bazaar on a tip-off.

Led by FIA deputy director Babar Sheharyar, the team was accompanied by the local police, healthcare commission officials and drug inspectors.

The police said the centre was also involved in the manufacturing of fake medicines and that the relevant fake drug factory was sealed.

They said Pervez Khan, a resident of Peshawar, owned the factory and that he had yet to be held.

The police said among the detainees were Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, urologist Dr Abdul Aziz, nursing assistant Kamran Khan, technicians Farooq Ahmad, Naveed Hameed, Mohammad Bilal and Asmatullah, and driver Shahid Iqbal.

They said the raiding team also taken into custody illegal kidney donor Mohammad Babar of Nankana Sahib and kidney recipient Samiullah of Afghanistan.

The police said the donor sold his kidney for Rs200,000, while Samiullah paid Rs1.8 million for it.

They said the illegal kidney transplants had been carried out at the centre for a long time.

Members of the raiding team later told reporters that they had sealed both the centre and drug factory and registered cases against all accused.

They said the arrested were in the FIA’s custody and would be produced in the court of a local magistrate today (Wednesday).

Published in Dawn, September 27th, 2017