A Serb man was arrested in Spain for trying “to buy an immigrant’s kidney”.
The man, described as a gangster for his position as head of a clan based around Tarragona in the northeast, was said to want the kidney for his adult son who suffers from kidney disease.
The scheme was uncovered as part of a wider investigation into a Serbian clan accused of burglaries in Spain and also in Germany, according to the Spanish police chief.
Police discovered that the gang had persuaded a middle-aged Moroccan immigrant without papers to sell his kidney for €6,000.
The migrant was threatened with death if he reneged on the deal. Indeed, after medical tests “he changed his mind, so the group detained and beat him”, the chief said.
The gang boss and his son were arrested along with three others for the alleged kidney-trafficking deal.
Spanish police also detained a further 48 people over the alleged burglaries. They are accused of recruiting children to break into rich people's homes and steal jewellery and cash.
It was just this March when 14 EU countries signed the first ever international treat to combat the traffic in human organs.
The business generates $1.2 billion in illegal profits worldwide every year, according to the Council of Europe, which drew up the treaty.
The World Health Organisation estimates some 10,000 black market transplants are carried out worldwide every year.
