KOCHI: The transformation of Thrissur native Sabith Nasar, who was recently arrested from Kochi airport, from a bakery worker in Kerala to a key player in an international organ trafficking racket in Iran has astonished probe officers.
As per the information collected by the officers, Sabith, 30, of Korukulathu house at Edamuttam in Thrissur’s Valapad, had been working in bakeries since 2017, after securing a diploma in civil engineering. He later moved to Kochi and took up various jobs before relocating to Iran in 2019 to assist patients with organ transplants at a hospital in Tehran.
Sources said during his time in Iran, Sabith began arranging donors for kidney transplants and got involved in the organ trade network. He then established connections with a Hyderabad native for kidney trade in Sri Lanka and a Kochi resident, they said. Sabith is learnt to have told the police that financial difficulties forced him to try donating his kidney in 2019. However, upon realising he could make more money by recruiting other donors, he became an agent for the racket.
It was his frequent journeys to countries like Iran since 2019 that triggered suspicion among Bureau of Immigration officials, who then placed him under surveillance of central agencies. Sabith is suspected of luring financially distressed persons to donate organs abroad, after making them believe that the entire process is legal. The donors received meagre amounts compared to the huge sums that racketeers collected from recipients abroad.
The police have recovered documents from his mobile phones corroborating organ trade reports. Sabith himself confessed to recruiting and taking 20 people, one from Palakkad and the rest from north Indian states, to Iran.
Officers said though Sabith moved out of his house in Valappadu in 2019, he continued to list it as his permanent address. After his wife left him following a family feud, Sabith frequently rented houses at various locations and stayed with his sister, travelling in and out of the state before moving abroad, they said.
“As per his statement, people from eight states were recruited to Iran. He has been staying there for the past five years. He took a commission of Rs 5 lakh per donation, while the donor received only about Rs 10 lakh. He also allegedly used a forged passport and Aadhaar documents to transport the donors. An inquiry is under way,” said an officer.
The police said a detailed interrogation of Sabith is required. They said they will also probe how he obtained a passport using the address in Thrissur despite not living there. The police said an organ trade deal is finalised for between Rs 50 lakh and several crores, even as the donor receives just Rs 5-10 lakh.
