Kolkata, March 12 (IANS): In what is being considered a major success by investigating agencies, the Border Security Force (BSF) apprehended a Bangladeshi human organ trafficker while he was attempting to cross over to India in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal.

The man had been involved in organ trafficking at several private hospitals in and around Faridabad in Haryana.

Troops of the BSF's North Bengal Frontier nabbed Md Mehedi Hasan (27) within the jurisdiction of the Berubari-II Border Outpost.

Hasan, apprehended on Sunday, belongs to Narsingdih district in Bangladesh.

When nabbed, he was carrying Rs 16,700, two high-end mobile phones, a driving licence and PAN and Aadhaar cards that he confessed to having obtained fraudulently in Faridabad.

"During questioning, the Bangladeshi national said that he had first come to India in July 2019 on a medical visa to get himself treated at a private hospital in Delhi. He allegedly met a man named Subhash there who arranged for his Aadhaar and PAN Cards and driving licence. Since then, he has been engaged in the human organ trafficking racket and handling crores of rupees sent through hawala channels. He was arrested once on August 17, 2022 by the Haryana Police after a Bangladeshi passport was found on him, but he was released from prison on September 22 that year," a BSF spokesperson said.

Hasan began working as a translator for Bangladeshi patients who visited private hospitals in Faridabad.

He would also arrange for human organs for those in need through illegal channels.

The payment was received in his account through hawala and he paid off the donors or their families after keeping aside a tidy sum for himself.

Hasan has been handed over to the police station in Jalpaiguri with the seized material.

Soorya Kant Sharma, IG, BSF, North Bengal Frontier, has commended the alert troops under his command for this major breakthrough that may lead to the busting of a major racket in cross-border human organ trafficking.