Yemen recognizes spread of human organ trafficking

The spread of human organ trafficking is one of the most "dangerous" phenomenon in the country and that it remarkably increased during the past few years, the Yemeni government said.

A report presented by the Health Minister Ahmed al-Ansi to the cabinet on Tuesday cited that gangs operate in human trafficking, particularly from Yemen to Egypt.

The cabinet demanded the minister to prepare a comprehensive report about the phenomenon in order to take the needed decisions in the cabinet's upcoming meeting.

Security sources said that a gang of trafficking human organs was arrested last year, pointing out that the gang exploited Yemen's low living standards to smuggle Yemenis to Cairo and other places.

According to confessions got by Yemen's Criminal Investigation from a member of the arrested gang, Yemenis are transferred to Cairo in return for $1000 per person.

He further said that 400 Yemenis were smuggled by the gang to Egypt, admitting that they sold their organs and most of them were kidneys and cornea.

In early of September, three traffickers of human organs were arrested in Sana'a, the Media Security Centre run by the Interior Ministry affirmed.

The ministry said the arrested men had sold a kidney of a Yemeni farmer for $5 thousand, pointing out that t they were arrested after the farmer notified a police station in Sana'a.

The state news agency, Saba, quoted sources of the Interior Ministry as saying that there is a fourth man involved in trafficking human organs is still at large, pointing out that the security authorities follow up the case to arrest all other involved persons.