A suspected member of an international kidney trafficking ring, identified as Junaid Hossain Khan Lincoln, was detained at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport by members of the Special Branch (SB) of police on Thursday night.
He was later handed over to immigration police by City SB officials at the airport.
According to law enforcement sources, immigration police detained Lincoln based on intelligence provided by City SB while he was attempting to leave for Pakistan. He was later handed over to Airport Police Station following a complaint filed by a victim.
Sources said the victim first came into contact with Lincoln through Facebook. After communicating via Messenger for some time, Lincoln allegedly offered Tk500,000 in exchange for one of the victim’s kidneys.
When the victim agreed, Lincoln brought him to Dhaka, arranged a Pakistani visa, and sent him to the airport.
Acting on a tip-off, City SB intervened and detained Lincoln before handing him over to immigration authorities. During initial interrogation, both the suspect and the victim confirmed the allegations, after which they were taken to Airport Police Station.
A case is being prepared over the incident.
Preliminary investigation suggests that Lincoln is part of an international organ trafficking network that lures people from Bangladesh with money and traffics them to countries such as India and Pakistan for illegal kidney sales.
Airport Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mobarak Hossain said the suspect was handed over to the police station by immigration authorities and will be produced before the court.
