Hyderabad: Police in Kodad arrested six members of a kidney trafficking gang accused of targeting dialysis patients across Andhra Pradesh. Investigators said the group promised illegal transplants in exchange for large payments but disappeared before any surgeries took place.
The gang, based in Kodad, had ten members in total and operated across districts, including Vijayawada, Guntur, and Srikakulam. Police said the accused lured patients at dialysis centres by offering to arrange kidney donors and secure transplant procedures. Victims were told to pay several lakhs in advance.
Officers said the group posed as middlemen and collected money under the pretext of transplant-related expenses. But when the time came for surgery, the accused would vanish.
Kodad DSP Sridhar Reddy said the case came to light after a resident of Srirangapuram, Naresh, lodged a complaint. He shelled out Rs 22 lakh back in December 2024 for a transplant that never happened.
Following his complaint, police picked up six people: Kadupuri Tatharao, Kondam Ramadevi, Bondili Prudhviraju, Kodali Baburao, Kandukuri Vishnu Vardhan Babu, and Mohammad Sardar. Four others are still on the run.
Police say the racket may have pulled off more than ten illegal transplants so far. The probe is still underway.