According to reports, an operation by the Antalya Police in cooperation with regional gendarmes that took place simultaneously in six districts in the province busted an organ trafficking gang allegedly headed by a retired teacher, M.G. Nine suspected members of the gang were arrested, in addition to four potential organ buyers and sellers. The charges are shocking -- police say that in Afyon's Kışlacık village, 10 people had sold kidneys to the gang in order to pay off debts, for a payoff of TL 20,000-30,000 each. Six people had allegedly had preliminary tests done ahead of surgery and were just waiting for the operation date to arrive, while another 30 had signed up as kidney sellers and were awaiting customers.Reports say that the second-in-command of the gang, H.İ.T., sold one of his own kidneys successfully six months ago to M.G. M.G. underwent surgery at the Akdeniz University Medical School Organ Transplant Center in an operation approved by the hospital's ethics board. After this, the two saw that it could be a profitable venture and decided to run their own organ trafficking scheme. The kidneys that they bought off of Kışlacık villagers for TL 20,000-30,000 each were sold in different places throughout Turkey for TL 40,000-50,000.
Now that the news has broken in the 800-person village following the police raid, stories of the organ sellers are beginning to emerge. Four members of the Taşkın family in Kışlacık sold a kidney through the gang, while other members were on the sellers list awaiting bids for their own organs. According to reports, father M. Taşkın and his younger brother, H. Taşkın, fell into the gang's snares while seeking a way to relieve financial woes resulting from alcoholism and gambling. The two brothers sold a kidney each, after which M. Taşkın's wife, Ç. Taşkın, and 24-year-old son, İ. Taşkın, followed suit. The family says they were able to successfully pay off their debts in this way.
Villagers said that almost everyone in the village has known for some time that the illegal business was going on but that fears of the “organ mafia” kept them silent. Many families feared that their children would be kidnapped by the gang to steal their organs and so began walking their children to and from school as a precaution. Village head Ahmet Demir said that those involved in the organ trade had dirtied the name of the village, explaining: “They would say they'd found employment and were moving to Antalya or İzmir. Then we'd learn that they'd had surgery. Among those who sold their kidneys were some people who were financially stable and others dependent on welfare.”
