A gang of 16 people has been arrested for running illegal kidney transplant operations in Changzhou, East China's Jiangsu province, the provincial public security bureau announced on Monday.

Police in Changzhou rescued 20 young men who were being held by the suspects. They also arrested four human organ transplant intermediaries.

Twelve kidney transplant operations had been conducted, one of which took place in Indonesia. One person was sent there, and his kidney was sold to a foreign recipient, said the provincial public security bureau.