Turkish Authorities Arrest Israeli Man For Organ Trafficking

organ trafficking

An Israeli man has been arrested in Turkey suspected of organ trafficking

He reportedly arrived in Istanbul to try to convince struggling and desperate Syrian refugees to sell their organs.

Alternet reports:

According to Turkish and Israeli media, he was making plans to perform illegal surgeries on struggling Syrian refugees in small Turkish hospitals.

The alleged trafficker was identified in the Turkish media as Boris Walker, but YNet reports that the man is likely Boris Wolfman, a wanted criminal who fled Israel after being indicted for organ trafficking.

Wolfman was wanted by Interpol, the international police organization, for past organ trafficking.

Patients illegally receiving an organ had to pay between €70,000 and €100,000, according to the indictment, whereas refugee organ donors received just tens of thousands of euros, resulting in tens of thousands of euros in profit for each transplant.

Previously, Wolfman was charged with organ trafficking and organizing illegal transplants in Kosovo, Azerbaijan, and Sri Lanka, in a series of alleged offenses committed between 2008 and 2014.

The organ trafficker had put ads in Russian newspapers to attract potential donors. YNet reported that Wolfman “did not explain to the donors about the physical and mental risks they face, denying them of the information they needed to make the decision.”

In Kosovo, organ donors were allegedly released without any medical supervision, explanation about needed medical treatments, or critical health advice. At least one teenage boy, who had his kidney removed, was paralyzed after not receiving proper treatment.

A Turkish court ruled Wolfman will be extradited back to Israel after a 40-day arrest period.

The black market for organs has been flourishing in the Middle East in the past few years, with the influx of millions of refugees. In 2013, Lebanese smugglers told Der Spiegel that, because of the desperation in which many refugees live, there are “more sellers than buyers.”