Cops bust human kidney trafficking ring
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SAO PAULO, Brazil (Reuters) -- Police in Brazil said they had nabbed 11 people on Tuesday and broken up a ring which arranged for Brazilians to sell their organs in South Africa.
In a statement, Federal Police said they had received an anonymous tip that an Israeli man was arranging for people in Recife, the capital of northeastern Pernambuco state, to sell kidneys through the gang.
The candidates were given medical tests to make sure they were healthy before being sent to Durban in South Africa where a kidney was removed and sold, the statement said.
Police found the going price for a kidney was about $10,000, although recent transactions had shown the organ was being sold for as little as $6,000.
The statement did not give details about the arrests or say how many people had sold organs through the ring. Police in Recife declined further comment on the case.
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