Nepal Police and an NGO fighting human trafficking are searching for four Nepali women who were sold in India’s eastern Kolkata city by a gang that first duped them into selling their kidneys.

The gang was busted by police and Maiti Nepal, a prominent NGO working for the prevention of trafficking woman and children, with the arrest of eight people last week.

While one is still at large, the tenth member of the gang is already behind bars for involvement in a kidney selling racket.

A diabolical tale of heartlessness and boundless greed came to light as the arrested men began to confess to the police.

According to police officials, the victims included the men’s wives, sisters and sisters-in-law. At least four of the men had sold their own kidneys in India. They then turned their attention to gullible relatives and other women, who were lured with the bait of highly paid jobs in India.

To ensure that the victims fell in line, the gang members pretended to fall in love with them and marry them. After taking the women to the Indian city, the gang made them sell their kidneys. Then they sold the women to brothel owners.

Police said the men were arrested on the basis of information given by four victims who managed to flee from a brothel in Kolkata.

Every year, taking advantage of the open border between India and Nepal, thousands of Nepali women and children are sold in the red-light areas of India.

Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world, is also a haven for kidney racketeers who trick the needy and unemployed into selling their kidneys in India, often for a pittance.