New Delhi, June 6 (RHC)-- Indian police have arrested members of an organ trafficking gang operating at a top Delhi hospital.  Five people, including two workers of Apollo Hospital in New Delhi, were arrested for allegedly luring poor people to sell their kidneys.

Police initially raided the hospital on Thursday, making three arrests.  The unnamed officer added that the needy victims lured into the scheme sold their kidney for 300,000 rupees (about 4,500 U$D).  The organ was then re-sold at much higher prices, reportedly 160,000 U$D, to wealthy customers.

The criminal gang reportedly used forged documents to pretend the victims were relatives of needy transplant recipients, fooling staff at the hospital, where two of the suspects worked as assistants to a senior nephrologist.

Commercial trade in organs is illegal in India and transplant donations to non-relatives must be approved by a special committee.  The victims came from across India, including the state of Tamil Nadu in the south and West Bengal in the east, to have their kidneys removed.

A chronic shortage of organs available for transplant fuels a booming black market trade in the body parts in India.  Millions of Indians suffer from kidney disease, mostly because of high rates of diabetes, hiking demand for transplants annually.  Despite efforts to stop organ trafficking, it continues unabated.