A trial over Alleged organ harvesting plot by Nigerian senator and wife
Ike Ekweremadu, his wife Beatrice, their daughter Sonia, 25, and an associate, Dr Obinna Obeta, 50, allegedly broke modern slavery laws.
The Old Bailey heard on Monday that Mr Ekweremadu illegally paid a street trader from Lagos to travel to the UK for a donation to help Sonia, who suffers from kidney disease.
The defendants deny the charges.
Opening the case, prosecutor Hugh Davies KC said Mr Ekweremadu's "status and influence had produced a significant degree of wealth".
The family from Willesden Green, north-west London, had "international connections," he said.
Sonia Ekweremadu's condition, he said, could have been alleviated or cured by a kidney transplant, and the family was "close, open and loving", with a "direct interest in Sonia's medical treatment."
But, he told the jury, rewarding someone for a kidney donation was illegal.
He said there was an "obvious risk that those providing organs for transplantation for reward are likely to come from the poorest and most vulnerable sections of society."
The defendants have been charged under modern slavery legislation, which makes it an offence to "arrange or facilitate the travel" of a person to the UK for exploitation.
This offence carries a higher potentilife sentence, compared to a maximum of three years for illegally making an organ donation.
The alleged victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was recruited from the street markets of Lagos, the court heard, where he had a cart and sold mobile phone parts.
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