PRISTINA, Kosovo, Nov. 12 (UPI) -- A Kosovo health official and six others have been charged in an organ trafficking scheme, EU prosecutors said Friday.
EULEX, the EU's law enforcement mission in Kosovo, said an organized criminal group has been trafficking people into the Balkan state to use their organs for transplants to other people.
The indictment was presented to a court in Pristina, Karin Limdal, a spokeswoman for EULEX, told EurActiv, a European news service.
Asked if the case is related to alleged organ theft by the Kosovo Liberation Army during the 1999 war, Limdal did not comment. KLA guerrillas were accused of killing Serbs for organ theft or trafficking during and after the war.
Citing local media reports, EurActiv said victims were recruited in Moldova, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Russia, among other countries, with false promises of payment for their kidneys.
One of those charged reportedly is Ilir Rrecaj, a former high-ranking Health Ministry official. All of those indicted are believed to be at large.
