Three members of an organ-trafficking syndicate have been arrested and doctors at a government hospital questioned by police after Al Jazeera uncovered an illegal organ-trading operation.
People from a village in West Java, which has a population of 30, sold their kidneys for around $5,000, the exclusive investigation revealed.
Police said that they had questioned six doctors so far for possible collusion with organised criminals in the trade.
"I was in a really bad situation. I had huge debts and didn't have a house ... I couldn't pay my rent for four months," one of the kidney sellers, Edi Midun, told Al Jazeera.
Selling organs is illegal in Indonesia, but people can donate them to friends and relatives.
To sell his kidney, 39-year-old Midun had to pretend that he knew the recipient of his kidney well, acting as a donor. A middleman changed his age to 25 to increase his chances of being accepted.