The Criminal Court of San Jose ruled late last week that a criminal case against four Costa Rican doctors formerly employed by the public Calderon Guardia Hospital who were charged in 2013 in an illicit scheme to traffic in human organs should proceed to trial.

Amongst those charged in the organ trafficking case is Dr. Francisco Mora Palma, the former head of nephrology at Calderon Guardia, who is facing more than 140 years in prison on charges of illegal organ harvesting and embezzlement.

Authorities arrested Mora Palma on June 18^th, 2013 after an investigation revealed his involvement in an apparent transnational organ trafficking network.  Prosecutors allege that Mora Palma was the leader of the group that operated in Costa Rica.

Mora Palma faces more than 140 years in prison – 10 years for each of 14 counts – if convicted only on the charges of human trafficking for the purpose of illegal organ harvesting, according to section 172 of the penal code.

Mora Palma has also been charged with 16 counts of embezzlement.

At the time of Mora Palma’s arrest, the Attorney General’s Office said that the trafficking network specialized in selling kidneys to patients in Israel.

“The patients who required the transplants were in Israeli territory, and some of the (trafficking) victims [had their kidney removed] here [in Costa Rica] and others were transported to Israel.  We have information that at least one person died after being operated on in Israel,” Attorney General, Jorge Chavarria said at the time.

Three other surgeons will also stand trial as co-defendants in the case.

A police officer that allegedly recruited victims and was arrested the same day as Mora Palma is expected to be a star witness in the case as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

Another person charged with recruiting victims, a Greek national who owned a pizzeria near the hospital, will stand trial in the case.

Victims were paid between US $6,000 and $20,000 to have their kidneys removed, according to the prosecution.

The case garnered international media attention at the time of the arrests.

The Court is expected to announce a date for the trial shortly.