West Bengal Police have uncovered a cross-border kidney smuggling racket after vulnerable youths were allegedly targeted with promises of jobs in other states. Investigators have found fake Indian identity documents, private hospital papers and a rate chart linked to kidney requirements. Now, in a significant development that exposes the organised nature of the racket, the Special Task Force has arrested Bangladeshi national Russel Ahmed in Kolkata, whose name emerged during the interrogation of another accused.
Police now looking for the wider network
The investigation took a major turn late on Saturday night when STF officers arrested Russel Ahmed from the Baguihati area on the northern outskirts of Kolkata. Police are now questioning him to establish the identities of his alleged local associates and understand how the network operated. Ahmed’s name came to the investigators after the STF arrested another alleged member of the kidney smuggling racket. The investigation found that the victim had undergone an operation involving one kidney and had received only a nominal amount of money. During Mondal’s interrogation, investigators reportedly came across Ahmed’s name. Police then began examining Ahmed’s alleged role in a network that operated across India and Bangladesh. Investigators believe the alleged racket mainly targeted young people from financially backward families. The operators allegedly approached vulnerable youths with promises of jobs in other states. Instead of the employment they were promised, police say the victims were taken for kidney operations. A state police officer described how the alleged racket operated. “The racket operators took these youth to other states promising jobs. Police also recovered papers from private hospitals in different states. The documents contained details about kidney requirements at the hospitals. Investigators are examining these documents to determine how the alleged network connected victims with medical facilities and whether more people were involved. This is not the first time Ahmed has faced police action. Delhi Police had then discovered that Ahmed had allegedly entered India illegally and managed to obtain Indian identity documents. These documents included an Aadhaar card and a PAN card. Ahmed’s interrogation is expected to focus on his alleged associates and the people connected with the racket. Investigators are also examining the role of those who allegedly recruited victims through job promises and those who may have arranged their medical procedures. The police investigation will also look into the private hospital documents and the kidney rate chart recovered from Ahmed. With Ahmed now in custody, investigators are trying to piece together the full structure of the alleged racket and determine how many people may have been involved.
After his arrest, Ahmed was handed over to officers of Bidhannagar South Police Station under Bidhannagar City Police in the North 24 Parganas district. Ahmed is scheduled to be produced before a district court in North 24 Parganas later on Sunday. Prabhas Mondal was arrested on August 18 following a complaint filed by the father of a young victim. Records show that he was arrested by the Delhi Police in 2024 for his alleged involvement in a kidney smuggling racket.
There their kidneys were operated on, and victims were paid a nominal amount against that,” he said.
A cross-border network under investigation
The investigation is now focused on identifying everyone involved in recruiting the victims and arranging their movement and medical procedures. One of the most important pieces of evidence recovered during the investigation was a rate chart reportedly found in Ahmed’s possession. The latest investigation has raised questions about how a network allegedly operating between India and Bangladesh was able to recruit victims and arrange kidney operations in different states. Police suspect that the operation involved multiple people performing different roles, from identifying vulnerable youths to arranging their travel and connecting them with medical facilities. The documents recovered from Ahmed may help investigators establish the extent of these alleged links.
He was also found to have been living on rent in West Bengal for a long period, according to the earlier investigation.
