Four held in Morocco over Turkey-linked organ trafficking

RABAT, Morocco - Moroccan police have arrested four people suspected of involvement in an international drug and organ trafficking network operating in particular between Morocco and Turkey, a security source said Tuesday.

Authorities launched an investigation after an announcement was published on social media proposing kidney removal "in private clinics abroad for large sums of foreign currency", the DGSN security service said in a statement.

The four suspects, including three women, were allegedly intermediaries, helping those wishing to sell their organs to go abroad, in particular to Turkey.

Two victims have been identified, while some were allegedly exploited to receive and transport drugs in Morocco and elsewhere, the statement added.

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The activities were carried out in connection with "a criminal network operating outside Morocco, made up of foreign nationals involved in the removal and sale of human organs", the DGSN said.

Police seized Moroccan and foreign currency, receipts for foreign money transfers, blood group tests of "potential victims", as well as cannabis and mobile phones, it added.

The investigation is ongoing in coordination with Interpol in Turkey.

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© Agence France-Presse

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