Smuggling of human placentas case: court grants FIA remand of suspects
ISLAMABAD: A sessions court granted the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) four days’ physical remand of five suspects, including three Chinese nationals, in a case related to smuggling of human placentas.
Duty Judge Mian Azhar Nadeem heard the case registered under Sections 9 & 11 of the Human Organs and Tissues Transplantation Act, 2010, handed over five suspects to the FIA on a four-day physical remand.
Earlier, the FIA produced the five suspects, including three Chinese citizens, Li Ganglei, Wang Bao, and Pengfei Gao as well as two Pakistani suspects Waqas Sarwar and Qaiser Hanif before the court for obtaining their physical remand.
According to an FIA spokesperson, five suspects were arrested during raids conducted in Islamabad’s F-7/1 and E-11 sectors.
As per the First Information Report (FIR), Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA) had received information from a reliable source that activities related to the sale and commercial use of human organs/tissues were being carried out at a house in sector F-7/1 of Islamabad.
It says that acting upon the verified information, a joint team comprising officers of the FIA Corporate Crime Circle (CCC) and HOTA conducted a raid at the said premises.
During the raid, the premises, which ostensibly appeared to be a private residence, “was found to have been converted into an unauthorized facility for the storage and processing of human placenta”.
The FIR says that the FIA personnel arrested the suspects, who were allegedly engaged in the collection, processing, preservation, packaging, and preparation of human placenta for commercial purposes.
Meanwhile, another Chinese national also entered into the premises and introduced himself as Liu Yanghao and stated that he was a friend of Li Gangcal.
During interrogation, Wang Bao disclosed other residential premises located in Sector E-11 (Islamabad) where illegal activities were allegedly being carried out.
An FIA team immediately proceeded to the identified location, where multiple containers and refrigerators “containing a substantial quantity of human organs” were recovered. Furthermore, two local workers present at the premises were also apprehended.
It says that in view of the foregoing facts and circumstances, and on the verbal directions of the Administrator, HOTA, it had been requested that the aforementioned individuals were to be subjected to a thorough investigation in order to identify all the people involved in the alleged illegal human organ and tissue trade network.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026