Lucknow, Jun 30 (PTI) The Special Task Force (STF) of the Uttar Pradesh Police on Thursday busted a blood smuggling racket and arrested seven people, including two owners of private blood banks, in a joint operation with the drug administration department.The arrests were made in the Thakurganj area of Lucknow. The STF recovered 302 packets of blood, called packed red blood cells (PRBC) in medical parlance, officials said.As per a statement issued by the STF, the accused were involved in smuggling PRBCs from Rajasthan and selling these to various hospitals in Uttar Pradesh."Asad Raza, a resident of Lucknow, and Naushad Ahmed, a resident of Kushinagar district, used to illegally purchase blood from various charitable organisations in Rajasthan. This blood was usually collected through blood donation camps organised by these organisations," the statement read.They used to purchase blood for Rs 700-800 per unit and sell these at higher prices to hospitals or patients in need, according to the STF.The duo, according to the STF, sold smuggled blood fraudulently to various blood banks in Lucknow and at least seven other districts of central Uttar Pradesh.STF officials said the accused also used to add saline water to the blood to increase profit margins."Mohammad Ammar, the owner of the Midlife blood bank and hospital, along with Rohit Kumar and Karan Mishra, who work there as technicians, and Ajit Dubey, owner of Narayani blood bank, and Sandeep Kumar, who is a technician there, have been arrested," the statement read. PTI CDN IJT