Indonesian designer Arnold Putra creates clothes and accessories from body parts.

An anti-human trafficking operation raided Amazonas State University (UEA) in Manaus, where anatomy professor Helder Binda Pimenta was suspected of trafficking human organs. The organs went through plastination, a preservation process wherein fluids are replaced by plastics such as silicon and epoxy to preserve body parts.

Brazilian Federal Police revealed that a human hand and three packets of human placenta were shipped from a Brazilian university and currently making their way to Singapore shores.

The infamous Indonesian fashion designer and influencer Arnold Putra was the alleged recipient of the controversial package. However, he has come forward and denied having any involvement in trafficking the said human body parts.

Putra came under fire in 2020 when he created a handbag made from human spines. He claimed that it was "ethically sourced" from a medical surplus in Canada with documentation to prove it. The designer further defended his human spine bag as a "piece of artwork," and the pieces that he created over the years were personal projects and not for profit.

In almost every country, human organ trafficking is illegal with varying penalties. In Brazil, the offense carries a prison sentence of up to eight years.

It is not yet verified whether the shipment has been intercepted on its way to Singapore.

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