Debt, deception behind alleged cross-border kidney trafficking case

A poor day labourer from Gaibandha has alleged that he was lured into donating a kidney with the promise of Tk10 lakh, but received only Tk50,000 after undergoing surgery in Nepal, prompting a court-ordered police investigation into an alleged cross-border organ trafficking racket.

Montu Mia, a resident of Gobindaganj upazila, filed the case with the Cognisance Court, alleging that brokers exploited his financial hardship by persuading him to donate a kidney to a wealthy woman in Dhaka in exchange for Tk10 lakh. According to the case statement, Montu had accumulated debts from NGOs and local moneylenders while struggling to support his family through daily wage work.

During that period, several brokers allegedly approached him with what they described as an opportunity to clear his debts. Driven by financial desperation, he agreed to the proposal.

The accused allegedly arranged his passport, paid him Tk50,000 in advance in early January this year and transported him through India to Nepal, where one of his kidneys was removed through surgery.

After spending several days in Nepal recovering from the operation, Montu was brought back to Bangladesh without receiving the remaining Tk9.5 lakh promised under the agreement, the case statement said. When he later demanded the outstanding payment, the accused allegedly refused, denying they owed him any money.

After local mediation efforts failed, Montu filed the case.

The court directed Kalai Police Station to register the complaint as a First Information Report (FIR), leading police to formally record the case. The case names eight people and four unidentified suspects. The accused include residents of Bogura, Joypurhat and Noakhali, several of whom have been identified as brokers involved in arranging illegal kidney transactions. Kalai police station Officer-in-Charge Rafiqul Islam said the case had been registered following the court's directive.

"The matter is being investigated seriously, and legal action will be taken against those found responsible," he said. Although Bangladesh has laws regulating organ transplantation, illegal organ trafficking networks continue to exploit financially vulnerable people through false promises and coercion. 

Such networks often operate across borders, taking advantage of weak oversight and complex trafficking routes. Legal experts say the case highlights both the criminal exploitation of impoverished people and the economic hardships that make them vulnerable. Advocate Uzzal Hossain, a lawyer at the district judge's court, called for exemplary punishment for those involved in illegal organ trafficking.