Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala government on Wednesday ordered the formation of an SIT to conduct a detailed probe into alleged widespread organ trafficking and document forgery in the state.
The home department said the Special Investigation Team was constituted on the directions of Minister Ramesh Chennithala.
The department decided to hand over all cases related to cyber fraud, hawala transactions and cryptocurrency transactions involving mule accounts in the Koduvally, Thamarassery and Kakkur areas of Kozhikode district to central investigative agencies.
It said there were indications that money generated through these activities was being used to finance drug trafficking, sedition and terrorist activities, and therefore it had been decided to transfer the investigations to the central agencies.
The department said hawala operators in the state were running a parallel economy by carrying out such illegal transactions on a large scale and that the Koduvally, Thamarassery, Kakkur, Kaithappoyil and Venchery areas of Kozhikode district had emerged as hotspots for cyber fraud.
Regarding the organ trafficking and document forgery cases, the department said the SIT, headed by Ernakulam Rural SP K S Sudarshan, was formed following statewide raids, several arrests and the seizure of fake letterheads purportedly issued in the names of MLAs and others.
The searches allegedly revealed that illegal organ transplant surgeries had been carried out in prominent hospitals in Ernakulam.
Taking serious note of the findings, Chennithala ordered the formation of the SIT, the department said.
