TORONTO: Amit Kumar, the alleged kingpin in the massive kidney racket, had been leading a lavish life while posing as a heart surgeon in Canada and had told his neighbors that he wanted to migrate to the country after winding up his "business" in India.

Kumar, against whom an Interpol red corner notice was issued after his illegal kidney selling network was unearthed, his "wife" Poonam Ameet, and their two sons, 5 and 4, moved into their Brampton home last April and the children attend a local private school, his neighbors said. Except Kumar, the rest of the family remains barricaded behind security doors at their home, Toronto Star reported. The couple bought the four-bedroom home in the predominantly Indian neighborhood of Bovaird in April 2007 for USD610,000.

It said adding the kidney scandal had shocked the quiet neighborhood. Kumar reportedly told neighbors that he was a cardiovascular surgeon with clients around the world, but he never once mentioned anything about kidneys, it said. Kumar, who Indian police say is not a surgeon, was last seen in Brampton before Christmas driving a leased USD65,000 Lexus 350 SUV. While some found him "standoffish," others said he seemed to be upfront and candid.

"I'm absolutely in shock," said the neighbor, calling Kumar a "gem of guy" who brought him gifts from his trips to India. "This is strange. I'm baffled. I feel so let down." Kumar told him he was going back to India to wind down his businesses, which he said included a hotel, a hospital and several clinics. Kumar planned to open a hotel in Canada upon his return and was going to live and work here permanently, he said. Interpol last week issued a rarely used "red notice" warrant for his arrest.

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