Kochi, June 1 (PTI) The Kerala police on Saturday said it has arrested the alleged mastermind behind the international human trafficking network involved in organ harvesting.

Ernakulam Rural SP Vaibhav Saxena said that 41-year-old Ballamkonda Ram Prasad also known as Pratapan was the alleged mastermind behind the mafia and was hiding out in a hotel in Hyderabad.

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A special investigation team of Kerala police arrested Pratapan, a native of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh, police said.

The police said that according to preliminary information received by it, many people have carried out kidney transplantation related transactions through the Andhra resident.

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The victims of the organ trafficking operation were from rural areas and the organs were allegedly removed in Iran, police said in a statement.

Pratapan had first got in touch with the organ trafficking mafia to donate his kidney, but as he suffered from some diseases, his organ could not be taken, it claimed.

Later, he joined the group, became their main person and contacted organ recipients through social media, police further claimed.

He would send the donors from India to Iran where they were received by one Sabith Nasar, who is already in police custody, the statement said.

After the organs were donated, the donors were sent back to India by Nasar, it said.

Besides Nasar and Pratapan, police have also caught one Sajith Shyam, suspected to be the one controlling the financial affairs of the gang, the statement said.

Nasar, hailing from Valappadu in Thrissur district, was taken into custody from Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) two weeks ago following a tip-off from Central agencies.

All the accused have been charged under relevant provisions of the IPC and the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.

A detailed investigation has been launched into the matter by a huge team headed by the Ernakulam Rural SP, the statement said.

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