Meerut, Aug. 6 -- The Bareilly police unearthed a racket that involved the illegal sale of blood extracted from poor labourers and drug addicts in exchange for food and paltry sums of money. The operation was allegedly run with the help of two sanitation workers employed at IMA Blood Bank, who exploited desperate families of patients needing urgent blood transfusions. SP (city), Manush Pareek, confirmed the arrests of four men. Those arrested include Abhay and Vineet, both sanitation workers at the blood bank, along with their accomplices Premnath, a resident of Tarikhana in Azamnagar, and Dheerendra Sharma of Indiranagar in Premnagar. According to Pareek, the gang had been operating for quite some time outside the IMA Blood Bank. When a patient's attendants failed to find voluntary donors, the employees-Abhay and Vineet Kumar-would approach them and offer a "solution" by connecting them to Premnath and Dheerendra. These two would then arrange poor or addicted individuals willing to donate blood in exchange for food items and a small cash payment. The blood, once obtained, would be sold to the patients' attendants for sums ranging between Rs.8,000 to Rs.10,000 depending on their financial condition. The profits were split among the four accused. The blood bank management, suspecting illegal activities, discreetly alerted the police. Acting on the tip-off, the Kotwali police deployed informers and raided the premises early on Monday morning, arresting all four accused near the blood bank.The accused, Abhay and Vineet, both residents of Lal Fatak in Cantt area, are believed to be key operators. Police are now investigating how deep their syndicate runs and whether more insiders are involved. Premnath, a high school dropout, used to run a juice cart outside the EPFO office near IMA. He met Abhay and Vineet through regular interactions. After learning about profits in blood trading, he began arranging donors from impoverished backgrounds. Dheerendra Sharma, a graduate who previously worked in courier services, was similarly lured into the trade by Abhay and Vineet. Police are examining the accused's mobile phones to trace the scale of the racket, including blood donors, recipient families, and possible accomplices....