KOCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday launched simultaneous raids at five major private hospitals across the state, including prominent healthcare facilities in Kochi. According to official sources, the sudden crackdowns are being conducted following specific intelligence tracking massive illicit financial transactions connected to a multi-state organ trafficking syndicate. The federal agency is thoroughly inspecting establishments and networks closely tied to the prime accused in the case, Najeeb. Investigators have reportedly established that significant financial deposits were routed from a major hospital in Kochi directly into Najeeb’s personal bank accounts.
State police and central intelligence units had previously uncovered that a well-entrenched, highly organized mafia was operating behind the large-scale illegal organ trade network. Najeeb, the suspected kingpin of the entire network, was recently intercepted and arrested by a special police squad from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. The arrest was executed following precise digital tracking of his real-time coordinates based on confidential tip-offs. Subsequent interrogations revealed that the cartel led by Najeeb had been actively running an underground organ trading enterprise for over three consecutive years by extensively fabricating official certificates, governmental clearances, and relation-proof documents.
The operational strategy of this illicit syndicate primarily involved preying upon marginalized, low-income individuals who were facing extreme financial distress. The racketeers would lure these vulnerable donors by offering minimal financial compensation for their organs and subsequently resell those vital organs to wealthy recipients in desperate medical need for astronomical amounts of money. To bypass strict medical and legal oversight, the gang relied heavily on forging statutory documents continuously for over three years. The ED is now scanning the financial ledgers and digital footprints of these corporate hospitals to unearth the deeper layer of hawala routes and money laundering feeding this illegal trade.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday, June 18, launched extensive synchronized searches across multiple districts in Kerala as part of its high-profile money laundering investigation into an organized inter-state organ donation racket. Simultaneous raids are underway in critical locations across Kottayam, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, and Kollam, with professional bank officials actively assisting central investigators in scanning intricate banking records and safe lockers.
In Kochi, dedicated ED teams are inspecting four premier healthcare institutions: Rajagiri Hospital (Aluva), Medical Trust Hospital (Pallimukku), Aster Medcity (Cheranalloor), and VPS Lakeshore Hospital (Maradu). Concurrently, extensive searches are being conducted at the residence of Mohammad Najeeb, who is alleged to be the main kingpin and coordinator of the entire network. The financial probe heavily centers on Kallatras Medical Tourism Private Limited, a shell company run by Najeeb, which allegedly facilitated highly illegal commercial organ donations under the fraudulent guise of international medical tourism. According to official agency sources, structured intermediaries systematically connected vulnerable donors, wealthy recipients, and cooperative hospitals, collecting astronomical sums of money to arrange unauthorized transplant procedures. The ED’s proactive financial investigation follows multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by the state police across various districts over the past few years. Preliminary findings conclusively suggest that the lucrative racket operated across various districts, with certain hospital-level elements and agents playing a key role in enabling illegal transplants.
The enforcement crackdown comes on the heels of the Kerala Police arresting 53-year-old Mohammad Najeeb, the alleged mastermind of the sprawling multi-district organ trafficking cartel. Najeeb, a native of Kasaragod, was intercepted and picked up by a special squad from Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, following months of digital tracking. He is being brought to his residence in Kalnad for detailed spot evidence collection. So far, nine individuals, including Najeeb’s wife Rasheedah, have been placed under arrest. Police investigators allege that the gang intentionally targeted financially distressed individuals, offering them around Rs 5–10 lakh for a kidney, which was subsequently sold to desperate recipients for Rs 20–50 lakh through aggressively forged statutory documents and fabricated familial identities.
The underground racket initially came to light after strict oversight officers detected stark irregularities in donor‑recipient verification applications in Thiruvananthapuram. Investigators later uncovered an inventory of forged government seals, counterfeit signatures, and fake clearance certificates purportedly issued by high-ranking government medical boards. A specific case involving a housewife from Vadakkekkara, who allegedly received ₹9.5 lakh for a kidney donation while the recipient shelled out nearly ₹20 lakh to the agents, proved pivotal in completely exposing the structural network. Police noted that Najeeb’s illegal operation relied extensively on forged Aadhaar cards, fake affidavits, and counterfeit recommendation letters to deliberately bypass India’s strict Transplantation of Human Organs Act regulations. Officials also suspect that cloned or forged phone numbers were deployed by the gang to manipulate mandatory state verification calls. Following Najeeb’s arrest, a high-level state-level Special Investigation Team (SIT) is expected to be constituted to thoroughly probe hospital‑level clearances, international hawala trails, and the deeper role of corporate intermediaries.
ലഘു വിവരണം
കേരളത്തിലെ 5 പ്രമുഖ സ്വകാര്യ ആശുപത്രികളിൽ എൻഫോഴ്സ്മെന്റ് ഡയറക്ടറേറ്റ് (ഇ.ഡി) ഒരേസമയം റെയ്ഡ് നടത്തി. അന്തർസംസ്ഥാന അവയവക്കടത്ത് കേസിലെ മുഖ്യപ്രതി നജീബുമായി ബന്ധപ്പെട്ട കോടികളുടെ കള്ളപ്പണമിടപാടുകളിലാണ് കൊച്ചിയിലെ അടക്കമുള്ള ആശുപത്രികളിൽ പരിശോധന നടന്നത്. ഉത്തർപ്രദേശിൽ നിന്ന് അറസ്റ്റിലായ നജീബിന്റെ അക്കൗണ്ടിലേക്ക് കൊച്ചിയിലെ പ്രമുഖ ആശുപത്രിയിൽ നിന്ന് പണം എത്തിയതായി ഇ.ഡി കണ്ടെത്തി. സാമ്പത്തികമായി ബുദ്ധിമുട്ടുന്ന സാധാരണക്കാരെ വ്യാജരേഖകളിലൂടെ കബളിപ്പിച്ച് കഴിഞ്ഞ മൂന്ന് വർഷമായി ഈ മാഫിയ അവയവക്കച്ചവടം നടത്തിവരികയായിരുന്നു.
(With inputs from MN, DeccanChronicle & South First)
For more details: Navamalayalam.com