Suspects arrested in Romania over forced kidney donation in Germany
21.07.2026
Photo: Matthias Balk/dpa
Romanian authorities have carried out a European Arrest Warrant on a man and a woman suspected of forcing another man to donate a kidney in Germany for transplant purposes.
Romania's Directorate for Investigating Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) said the suspects were detained in the south-western Romanian town of Caransebeș at the request of prosecutors in Munich.
A spokeswoman for the Munich Public Prosecutor's Office confirmed the arrests and said Germany would seek their extradition. A judge in Timișoara is to rule on whether the pair should be extradited to Germany.
According to DIICOT, the two suspects are "leading members" of a criminal group based in Timișoara. They are under investigation for aggravated human trafficking for the purpose of organ removal. Romanian media have identified the suspects as a married couple.
The male suspect suffered from severe kidney disease and needed a transplant, DIICOT said. Together with the female suspect, he allegedly coerced the victim - a Romanian national - into agreeing to donate a kidney by threatening that his parents in Romania could be killed.
Investigators said the victim was held in an apartment in Munich, where the suspects allegedly confiscated his identity documents and prevented him from contacting his family.
The victim was also allegedly forced to work without pay for the suspects and to sign vehicle purchase contracts on their behalf.
The kidney transplant was carried out at a hospital in Germany. According to investigators, the victim falsely claimed to be the suspect's nephew in order to proceed with the donation.
Romanian investigators searched several properties owned by the alleged criminal group in nearby Timișoara in March. Authorities also carried out searches in Munich.
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