KATHMANDU: Police have arrested a gang involved in systematically trafficking kidneys of Nepali youths by taking them to India under the false pretense of providing hotel jobs.

Preliminary investigations reveal the involvement of three individuals from Kavrepalanchok and Nuwakot districts in this organized and cross-border human organ trafficking crime.

According to the Anti-Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau, the arrested suspects include 35-year-old Rajkumar Pariyar (known as Kumar) from Panchkhal Municipality-10, Kavre; 24-year-old Samir Nepali from Belkotgadhi Municipality-9, Nuwakot; and 47-year-old Rakesh Nepali from Ward No. 4 of the same municipality.

The suspects were apprehended from Kathmandu and Kavre, Bureau Chief Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Krishna Prasad Pangeni stated.

SSP Pangeni explained that the accused had, in May 2025, taken a male victim from Koteshwor, Kathmandu, via Kalanki and the Sunauli border in Bhairahawa, to Chandigarh, India.

They lured the victim with promises of earning INR 10,000 to 20,000 monthly by working at a hotel in Chandigarh.

The victim was kept in an apartment there and subjected to a medical check-up at an undisclosed clinic.

“After keeping him there for about a month, they told him, ‘You will be given 600,000 Nepali rupees. After the kidney is removed, we will pay you when you return to Nepal,’” SSP Pangeni quoted the victim.

However, when the victim refused to donate his kidney, the situation turned grim.

“Claiming the victim owed the expenses incurred, they used fear and intimidation. They forcibly removed his left kidney,” Pangeni said.

A few days after the kidney removal, the accused sent this victim along with four others back to Nepal.

After returning to Kathmandu on July 31, the victim revealed his ordeal to the bureau and filed a complaint.

Following the complaint, the bureau conducted a special operation and arrested Samir Nepali from New Buspark, Mitranagar on August 6; Rakesh Nepali from Tokha Municipality-3, Baniyatar; and Rajkumar Pariyar from Panchkhal, Kavre on August 7, SSP Pangeni said.

Preliminary investigations show that the accused have long been engaged in planned, illegal kidney trafficking between Nepal and India.

The suspects exploited victims’ vulnerable economic conditions to take them to Chandigarh.

“So far, investigations reveal that they have trafficked kidneys of about 50 to 60 victims to India. Efforts are ongoing to contact other victims,” said Pangeni.

“The gang is involved in enticing victims with employment opportunities in India, transporting them from Nepal, arranging medical check-ups at clinics, and removing kidneys,” Pangeni added.

The bureau is investigating this crime under the Organized Crime Prevention Act, 2013.

The three arrested individuals have been remanded in seven-day custody by the Kathmandu District Court for further investigation.

“This is not an isolated incident; search for other victims is ongoing,” Pangeni said. The bureau is also pursuing other suspects believed to be involved.

Human organ trafficking is not only organized crime but a grave violation of human rights.

This case highlights how inter-country criminal gangs exploit impoverished, unemployed, and socially marginalized Nepali youths.

Kidney trafficking is becoming an increasing concern in Nepal, according to SSP Pangeni.

He stressed that without stricter laws and effective international cooperation, curbing such crimes remains challenging.