ED Raids Kerala Hospitals in Expanding Organ Trafficking Money Laundering Probe

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out coordinated searches at hospitals and residences across Kerala as part of a widening money laundering investigation into an alleged organ donation racket that investigators believe operated through forged documents, middlemen and illegal financial transactions.

Searches were conducted at five locations in Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kottayam from early morning, with ED officials examining bank records, transplant-related files and financial transactions linked to suspected illegal organ donation activities. According to officials, the probe stems from multiple FIRs registered by Kerala Police against a network accused of facilitating unlawful organ transplants over the past several years.

Investigators suspect the accused acted as intermediaries between donors, recipients and hospitals , allegedly collecting large sums of money to arrange transplants. The ED's case focuses on the suspected proceeds of crime generated through these activities.

The agency is also probing the activities of Mohammed Najeeb , the alleged kingpin of the racket, who was arrested in Uttar Pradesh last month after evading investigators. Police say Najeeb operated Kallatras Medical Tourism Private Limited , a company allegedly used to facilitate illegal organ donations under the guise of medical tourism.

The case first came to light in May when Kerala Police busted a document-forgery network and arrested six people. Investigators alleged that the group forged hospital letterheads, police clearance certificates, affidavits and recommendation letters purportedly issued by MLAs, MPs, senior police officers and doctors to bypass mandatory transplant verification procedures.

Police investigations have suggested the network may have facilitated more than 20 transplant procedures , while some investigators suspect the operation could be linked to nearly 40 transplants over five years . Authorities are also examining whether hospitals knowingly or unknowingly failed to detect forged documents and whether financially vulnerable individuals were exploited as donors.