Kochi: The Kerala police on Sunday arrested a 30-year-old man suspected to be a key figure in an international human trafficking network involved in organ harvesting.

Sabith Nasar, hailing from Valappadu in Thrissur district, was taken into custody from Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) on Saturday following a tip-off from central agencies, police sources said.

He was arrested on Sunday.

According to the police, the information they received indicated that the accused, with the intention of making money, allegedly cheated the victims by trafficking them after convincing them that they would be provided with legal compensation for donating their kidneys in foreign countries.

He has been charged under IPC section 370 (trafficking of a person) and the Transplantation of Human Organs Act, 1994.

A detailed investigation has been launched into the matter, the police said, without elaborating.