Islamabad Court Extends Remand of Five Suspects in Human Placenta Trafficking Case
ISLAMABAD: A local court in Islamabad on Wednesday extended the physical remand of five suspects by one day in the high-profile human placenta trafficking case being investigated by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).
The suspects were produced before Judicial Magistrate Ahmad Shahzad Gondal, where FIA requested a seven-day extension in physical remand, arguing that further investigation was required.
During the hearing, FIA investigators informed the court that the accused were allegedly attempting to export a consignment of around 580 kilograms of human placenta to Vietnam.
According to investigators, the shipment had allegedly been falsely declared as sheep organs to facilitate its export.
The investigation further revealed that the placenta was allegedly collected from hospitals in Lahore, Rawalpindi, and Peshawar, processed, and prepared for shipment abroad.
The case stems from a recent joint raid by the FIA and the Human Organ Transplant Authority (HOTA) in Islamabad’s F-7 sector, where five suspects, including Chinese nationals, were arrested. Officials claimed to have recovered a large quantity of fresh, dried, and processed human placenta during the operation.
After hearing arguments, the court granted a one-day extension in the suspects’ physical remand and directed FIA to produce them again upon completion of the remand period.
