Eleven Jordanians were charged on Wednesday with trafficking human organs and selling them illegally in Egypt, police said.

"Three other suspects are being interrogated, while seven more people are still on the run. We have been following on the issue with the Egyptian authorities for several months," he said.

The suspects, who were extradited from Egypt on Monday, are part of a group preying on poor people in the kingdom, a police spokesman told AFP.

In some cases, people were paid to donate organs while still alive, while in others organs were being removed from people who had died and sold on the black market, the official said.

"The group sold rich Arabs kidneys for up to $30,000 each. If convicted, they face 10 years in prison with hard labor," the source added.

In 2007, Jordan created a National Commission to Promote Organ Donation in a drive to crack down on illegal trafficking and also to encourage Jordanians to donate their organs after death.

That came after authorities uncovered more than 80 cases of trafficking that year.

Organ trafficking is banned in the kingdom, with jail penalties and up to 20,000 dinars ($28,000) in fines. –AFP