China: Organ Trafficker Drugs Boy, 6, and Gouges out his Eyes for Buyer

A six-year-old boy had his eyes gouged out after being drugged by a suspected organ trafficker in China.

The boy was found near his home in Fenxi county in Shanxi province in north China, reported China's Xinhua news agency.

The victim, called Binbin, had been playing outside his home when he disappeared. He was found about four hours later drugged and his face covered in blood. His eyes had been removed.

Local police have set up a special team to investigate the case. A 100,000 yuan (£10,500) reward has been offered for information leading to the arrest of the attacker, who investigators believe is a woman.

According to AFP, the boy's eyes were found nearby but the corneas - the transparent covering - were missing, suggesting an organ trafficker was behind the attack.

The boy was taken to hospital for treatment.

Unconcious during attack

His father told Shanxi Television: "We didn't notice his eyes were gone when we discovered him. We thought he fell down from high and smashed his face.

"He had blood all over his face. His eyelids were turned inside out. And inside, his eyeballs were not there."

China Central Television said the boy was not conscious during the attack because of the drugs he had been given.

Organ trafficking is rife in China where around 300,000 people need transplants every year, but just 10,000 are available.

Children's organs are more expensive on the black market, an organ trafficker told Sina online news, because of the belief that the younger the donor, the better the organ quality.

In 2012 police in China arrested 137 people, including 18 doctors, for allegedly trafficking human organs in a nationwide crime ring.