The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) is investigating a syndicate suspected of smuggling alleged human placenta from hospitals to produce anti-ageing injections, the BBC reported on Friday.

According to the BBC, officials uncovered 500 kilogrammes of what is believed to be human placenta during a raid on an illegal processing facility in Islamabad last week, leading to the arrest of five people.

Photographs shared by the agency showed trays of dried placenta arranged in trolley carts inside a house that had been “converted into a facility for storing and processing placenta,” the report added.

FIA officials were also reported to have intercepted a 100kg shipment of placenta at Islamabad airport on Wednesday, which was bound for Vietnam.

The five suspects bought the placenta from hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi at about Rs800 per piece, Hina Kanwal, an officer at the Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA), said, according to the BBC.

The ring is accused of buying 200kg of the organs from various hospitals each month, drying and processing them before shipping them abroad, the FIA said, according to BBC Urdu.

Although the suspects initially claimed they were handling sheep placenta, they later revealed under interrogation that it was human placenta.

The FIA noted that the material was intended for export for use in anti-ageing injections costing Rs700,000 each.

“The agency believes that the syndicate’s operations extend beyond the capital to other major cities such as Lahore, Peshawar and Rawalpindi,” the BBC reported.

It noted that the agency was also investigating immigration officers, waste management companies and hospitals for possible complicity.

The report further highlighted that the harvesting of human organs for commercial purposes is punishable by up to 10 years in jail and fines of up to Rs1 million.

According to gynaecologist Sadaf Tariq, there are strict regulations governing the disposal of placenta, which is considered “highly infectious medical waste,” it said.

Rich in protein, iron and fat, placenta is believed by some to be nutritious even for adults, and has been made into pills and injections thought to help with tissue regeneration.