A Jordanian suspected of trafficking in human organs has been arrested in Yemen as he attempted to fly to Egypt along with seven of his "victims," the interior ministry said on its website on Saturday. "Security forces in the capital arrested a Jordanian organ trader named Ramzi Khalil Abdullah Farah who was trying to travel to Egypt along with seven Yemeni victims," the ministry said. It said Farah wanted for allegedly recruiting people to sell their kidneys. No Egyptian officials immediately are available for comment. It said the seven Yemenis, aged between 20 and 45, were "on their way to Egypt after being persuaded by the Jordanian trader" who advanced them money from the proposed sale of their organs. The ministry website did not say how much was reportedly paid to each person. The World Health Organization considers Egypt, where hundreds of poor people sell kidneys or parts of their livers every year, to be a centre for organ trafficking. Parliament in Egypt adopted a law to regulate organ transplants and limit trafficking in late February. According to the United Nations, hundreds of poor Egyptians sell their kidneys and livers every year to buy food or pay off debts. In September 2009, eleven Jordanians were charged with trafficking human organs and selling them illegally in Egypt, police said. The group sold rich Arabs kidneys for up to $30,000 each.
