4 people arrested over organ trafficking using social media

CAIRO – 30 September 2020: Four people were arrested over accusations of recruiting victims via social media, and trafficking their body organs in exchange of money.

Residents in Ismailia governorate captured the four people, and assaulted them after rumors the four kidnapped a girl. After the apprehended were handed to the police, they admitted they recruited people via social media to donate kidneys in exchange of money.

One of the accused acknowledged that a worker and his son, a woman and himself are involved in organ trafficking incidents through a Facebook page they launched to recruit donators who are willing to sell their organs in exchange for L.E. 25,000.

They also admitted that they recruited patients with kidney failure to sell them the donated organs, with the traffickers receiving huge sum of money varying between L.E. 100,000 to L.E. 150,000.

According to investigations, donors had to sign promissory notes to be obliged to undergo the surgery and not retract.

This comes within the framework of the integrated efforts of the security services to combat such crime. Egypt has been combating the crime of human trafficking by adopting a national strategy and laws that tighten penalties against its perpetrators. The Egyptian efforts in this regard have won international praise.

The Egyptian state did not only ratify a law criminalizing human trafficking, but it also approved Law No. 82 of 2016 regarding combating illegal immigration, which stipulates the perpetrator is punished with life imprisonment and a fine of no less than LE 200,000 if the crime is committed by an organized criminal group or for a terrorist purpose that results from it, and in case of the death or permanent disability of the migrant.

Also, this penalty applies if the perpetrator uses force, violence, weapons, or drugs; if there were women or children among the migrants; or if the perpetrator seizes, or destroys travel documents or the identity of the migrant.

The law also stipulates the penalty shall be temporary hard labor and a fine of not less than LE 200,000 and not more than L.E. 500,000 if the perpetrator establishes, organizes, or manages an organized criminal group for smuggling migrants; takes command in it; is one of its members or affiliates with it; if the perpetrator carries a weapon, or is considered a threat to the lives of those being smuggled out.

Additional reporting by Walaa Ali