FIA probes alleged placenta smuggling network after Islamabad arrests

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency is investigating a group suspected of collecting and smuggling human placenta from hospitals for processing and export.

Officials recovered 500 kilogrammes of material believed to be human placenta during a raid last week on an illegal processing site in Islamabad. Five people were arrested in the operation. Photographs released by the agency showed trays containing dried placenta placed on trolley carts inside a house that officials said had been turned into a storage and processing facility.

FIA officials also stopped a 100kg consignment of placenta at Islamabad airport on Wednesday. The shipment was said to be headed to Vietnam.

Purchases from hospitals under investigation

Hina Kanwal, an officer at the Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA), told the BBC that the suspects were purchasing placenta from hospitals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi for around Rs800 per piece. The FIA said the group is accused of obtaining 200kg of the organs from different hospitals each month, then drying and processing the material before sending it abroad.

The suspects initially told investigators they were dealing in sheep placenta, but later said during questioning that the material was human placenta. The FIA said the material was meant for export for use in anti-ageing injections priced at Rs700,000 each.

Probe may extend beyond the capital

Investigators believe the alleged network may not be limited to Islamabad and could have links in Lahore, Peshawar and Rawalpindi. The agency is also examining the possible involvement of immigration officials, waste management companies and hospitals.

Commercial harvesting of human organs carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to Rs1 million. It also cited gynaecologist Sadaf Tariq as saying that strict rules apply to the disposal of placenta, which is treated as highly infectious medical waste.

Placenta, which contains protein, iron and fat, is regarded by some as having nutritional value for adults and has been used to make pills and injections believed to assist with tissue regeneration.