The scam was uncovered last month in Gurgaon, a wealthy New Delhi suburb when one of hundreds of unemployed victims, who was allegedly tricked into giving up his kidney, lodged a complaint with the police.

An alert by the global police body Interpol led to the arrest in Nepal earlier this month of Amit Kumar, while his brother Jeewan Rawat was detained in New Delhi on Sunday, federal police spokesman G. Mohanty said.

'Rawat will be produced before a court today (Monday),' Mr Mohanty added.

'He is wanted for crimes against life and transnational crimes,' said another Central Bureau of Investigation officer.

Rawat's detention comes as Delhi police are also probing some of their own officers for allegedly taking bribes to cover up the scam.

One senior policeman has been arrested and six others are being sought, with press reports saying they had accepted two million rupees (S$71,000) in bribes from Kumar.

Dubbed 'Doctor Horror' by Indian newspapers, Kumar is said to have made millions of dollars by selling kidneys to wealthy Indians and foreigners for transplant.

He has been charged with causing grievous hurt with a weapon, wrongful confinement and fraud for allegedly luring or forcing hundreds of poor people into giving up their organs.

Live kidney transplants are allowed in India only if the organ is donated by a blood relative or spouse, or if there is a swap agreement between two needy families. All transplants must be cleared by the government.

But a huge gap in demand and poor availability of kidneys from dead donors has led to a thriving underground business. -- AFP