KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 1

The Human Trafficking Investigation Bureau has arrested two individuals in connection with an organized human trafficking network that lured people from various districts to New Delhi, India, where their kidneys were illegally extracted and sold.

The suspects have been identified as Shyam Krishna Bhandari (38) of Sunkoshi Rural Municipality-7, Sindhupalchok, and Sujan Bharti (29) of Indrawati Rural Municipality-2, Sindhupalchok. Both were taken into custody after weeks of surveillance.

Bhandari, who had been hiding in Lajpat Nagar, New Delhi, was arrested at the Gadda Chauki border point in Kanchanpur while attempting to re-enter Nepal. Bharti was apprehended at the Birgunj border point in Parsa.

The arrests come in connection with media reports that organized traffickers had been targeting vulnerable individuals from different districts, deceiving them with false promises of work and then transporting them to New Delhi, where their kidneys were removed without consent.

In the current fiscal year, the Bureau has registered four cases related to organ trafficking, with five victims already providing testimony. Investigations are ongoing under the charge of 'organized human trafficking and illegal organ extraction.'

The arrests are part of a wider crackdown under Operation Life Shield – Protecting Lives from Illegal Organ Trade. Earlier, police had detained three network members-Rakesh Nepali, Samir Nepali, and Raj Kumar Nepali-from Kathmandu, Nuwakot, and Kavrepalanchowk. Based on the testimonies of victims and arrestees, investigators zeroed in on Bhandari and Bharti, described by authorities as the key masterminds and creators of the trafficking ring.

Both accused are now in custody for further investigation, the Bureau confirmed.