Italy nabs ex-Israeli officer for organ smuggling

Italy nabs ex-Israeli officer for organ smuggling
Sun Jun 9, 2013 14:33:54

Police in the Itlian capital, Rome, have arrested an Israeli organ trafficker on the run from Brazilian authorities.

Former Israeli army officer Tauber Gedalya fled Brazil in 2010 after he was sentenced by a Brazilian court to life in prison for arranging for at least 19 Brazilians to travel to South Africa, where their kidneys and other organs were removed. The organs were then sold for around $70,000 to $80,000 according to Italian media reports.

The man reportedly arrived in Rome on Thursday and presented the border officials his Israeli passport. The official noted that Gedalya was behaving anxiously and upon further inspection, discovered that the date of birth on the passport had been altered.

The 77-year-old Israeli citizen was taken for questioning and his fingerprints were run in an international database, which revealed that he was wanted in Brazil. A search of his belongings further revealed that he was carrying multiple passports as well as a knife.

Gedalya has reportedly served as the leader of a human organ trafficking ring that offered poor people in Brazil to sell him their kidneys for $12,000. He is currently in an Italian jail and now reportedly faces extradition to Brazil.

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