Gradu Cîrpaci extradited to Germany in organ‑trafficking kidnapping case

On 27 July 2026 Romanian police handed over Gradu Cîrpaci, a member of the Cîrpaci clan, to German authorities under a European arrest warrant for alleged human‑trafficking linked to illegal organ removal.

Investigators say Cîrpaci and his wife confined a Romanian man, seized his passport and ID, forced him to work and threatened his family to coerce a kidney donation in exchange for €15,000 and an apartment. The transplant was performed in a hospital in Freiburg, Germany. After the operation the victim received no further compensation and remained effectively enslaved. The handover followed a joint operation by the Timiș and Caraș‑Severin police forces, data exchange via the International Police Cooperation Centre, and a court order from the Timișoara Court of Appeal authorising the extradition.