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Spanish police dismantle corpse trading criminal network
The gang sold the dead bodies to universities throughout Valencia for scientific research
The National Police have dismantled a criminal network in Valencia which allegedly stole corpses from hospitals and residential care homes and later sold them to universities for 1,200 euros each. The gang reportedly zeroed in on elderly people and foreigners without families or significant ties to the community.
Four men aged between 41 and 74, all Spanish, have been arrested.
The disturbing investigation began early last year when the body of a deceased patient was removed from the morgue of a hospital by a funeral home. It quickly transpired that two workers had falsified official documents to hoodwink the medical centre and the Civil Registry.
Following several leads, police realised that the dead man was due to be buried in his home town in Valencia in a charity funeral paid for by the Town Hall. Instead, his remains were ruthlessly and illegally sold to a university for medical study. No friends or family members gave their consent.
Pursuing their inquiry, the agents discovered a second instance employing almost identical modus operandi. In this scenario, the deceased individual was admitted to a nursing home, and allegedly gave consent for the donation of his body to scientific research three days before his demise.
Upon closer inspection, investigators found that the man's mental faculties were severely compromised in the days leading up to his passing, and so he would not have possessed the capacity to consent. Moreover, the body was ultimately sold to a different university that offered more money than the one specified in the signed agreement.
Irregularities with cremations
The investigators also uncovered suspicious activities related to the cremation of bodies that were purportedly donated to scientific research. It appeared that once the universities had finished their studies, they had to cover the costs of cremation, with the questionable funeral home handling all the arrangements.
After conducting a thorough investigation, officers discovered that the funeral company had billed a university 5,040 euros for 11 cremations that were not listed in the invoices of any crematoriums operating in Valencia.
In a grisly development, it was found that the criminals stuffed the dismembered stolen corpses into coffins belonging to other deceased individuals, thus cremating several bodies in the one go to save money.
As the gruesome investigation came to a close, police arrested the owners of the funeral home as well two staff members, who are believed to be the ringleaders.
In other news: British pensioner seriously injured in Alicante cliff fall
Image: Freepik
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