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Police bust criminal gang who tried to force immigrant to sell kidney

Group wanted organ for its boss’s son, and kidnapped donor after he had second thoughts

Video: National Police break up a gang of burglars seeking to obtain a kidney from an immigrant.Video: National Police
Marc Rovira

Spain’s National Police force has arrested five members of a gang of burglars in Tarragona who were allegedly plotting to buy a kidney, given that the son of the leader needs a transplant.

The group, which specialized in robbing luxury properties, is thought to have been trying to obtain the organ from a needy immigrant in exchange for €6,000. However, the donor is believed to have had second thoughts at the last moment leading the gang to kidnap him, beat him up and threaten him with death.

The gang boss’s son suffers from kidney problems and has been receiving dialysis

The situation caused the police to step in to foil the kidney extraction following a two-year investigation in collaboration with their Belgian and German counterparts and the National Transplants Organization (ONT).

Police sources said a total of 48 arrests were made in breaking up the gang, which was based in Tarragona province but operated over a wide area.

Police and ONT sources began their inquiry after becoming aware of the moves to obtain the kidney outside of conventional channels for the gang boss’s son, who suffers from kidney problems and has been receiving dialysis. Their inquiry ultimately led them to the plot to exploit the immigrant.

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