Major Crackdown on Illicit Fertility Network

HYDERABAD — In a major crackdown on illicit medical networks, Hyderabad police have successfully busted an inter-state egg donation racket, rescuing 43 women and seizing significant quantities of regulated pharmaceutical supplies, medical documents, and communication devices.

According to law enforcement officials, the multi-state operation was initiated following intelligence inputs regarding a human trafficking and illegal fertility operation centered out of a working women's hostel in the Saroornagar area. The syndicate allegedly targeted vulnerable, financially distressed women from across the country, exploiting them for commercial egg donation procedures.

Vulnerable Women Targeted Across Seven States

The victims, hailing from West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Odisha, were reportedly lured with financial incentives ranging between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 per donation cycle. Investigators revealed that the network systematically recruited, transported, and accommodated these women in residential facilities across Hyderabad before funneling them into unauthorized or unregulated in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and fertility establishments.

Malkajgiri Police Commissioner B. Sumathi confirmed that nine suspects have been taken into custody in connection with the syndicate. Among those arrested is Emirishetty Durga Prasad, the manager of the Shetty Working Women's Hostel in Venkateswara Colony, who preliminary First Information Reports (FIRs) identify as a primary broker coordinating the financial transactions and recruitment.

Seizures and Ongoing Medical Inquiries

During coordinated raids across multiple localities—including Prakash Nagar, Begumpet, Erragadda, Saroornagar, and Gopalapuram—authorities confiscated a cache of hormonal injections, medical tablets, syringes, and needles. Samples of the seized pharmaceuticals and medical equipment have been dispatched to Gandhi Hospital for rigorous chemical and toxicological testing to determine the precise nature of the substances administered.

Local law enforcement, alongside health department officials, is aggressively probing several critical aspects of the operation. Investigators are verifying whether the victims underwent unauthorized hormonal stimulation or egg-retrieval procedures, whether mandatory informed consent protocols and medical safety standards were upheld, and if the associated fertility clinics possessed valid state registrations and regulatory clearances.

Authorities have registered three separate cases—two within the Saroornagar jurisdiction and one in Begumpet—under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021. Further inquiries are underway to map out financial trails and identify potential broader linkages between the arrested brokers and licensed commercial fertility centers.