Tanzania Police Arrest Man Who Tried to Sell Albino Niece for Body Parts | VICE News

Tanzanian authorities have nabbed a 44-year-old man in an undercover sting aimed at curbing the selling of people with albinism to witchdoctors and others who would use their body parts in black magic.

People with albinism, also known as albinos, have an extreme deficiency of melanin pigmentation that makes their skin and hair very pale. The condition generally results from recessive genes carried by parents. Albinism in Africa brings with it an increased chance of developing fatal skin cancer, and the lack of pigment to protect eyes against the bright sun can cause sight problems.

Morbidly, in some areas where superstitions prevail, there are those who believe that the body parts of people with albinism bring wealth and luck when used in charms.

The suspect arrested in Tanzania was allegedly trying to sell his six-year-old albino niece, but did not know that he was actually dealing with security officials as part of an operation to put a halt to the illegal body part trade, Reuters reported.

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One child in 3,000 is born with albinism in East Africa, compared to one in 20,000 in the United States. Advocacy groups estimate that there are more than 100,000 albinos in Tanzania. The targeting of this group in abductions and killings has become common — more than 76 albinos have been murdered in the country since 2000 and various others mutilated in some way.

Tanzania Police Arrest Man Who Tried to Sell Albino Niece for Body Parts | VICE News