A Nigerian woman was detained by Italian police for reportedly employing voodoo, also known as “juju,” as a threat to coerce young women and girls who travel from Nigeria into prostitution.
Police stated in a statement on Friday, February 17, 2023, that the suspect who is thought to be the “Madame” of a sex trafficking ring was detained in the Puglia province of Foggia on Tuesday.
An operation to apprehend the Nigerian woman living in Foggia was conducted by flying squad police in the Sicilian city of Siracusa working with police in Foggia.
The arrest order was granted on February 8 in Catania, Sicily, by a preliminary investigations judge (GIP).
Investigators claim that the defendant, who is currently being held awaiting trial, created a prostitution network that recruited young women in Nigeria and forced them to become prostitutes in Italy.
Police believe that the young women and girls were coerced into prostitution by utilizing voodoo rituals and deception and that the victims’ relatives were also threatened with death.
After the victims arrived in Italy, the suspect allegedly used intimidation tactics, including juju rites, to persuade them to leave the detention centres and work for her instead.
The Nigerian citizen is accused of forcing people to cross the dangerous Mediterranean Sea from Nigeria to Italy while being held captive by criminals who mistreated them, which is made worse by the fact that some of her alleged victims were minors. She also allegedly threatened their lives and physical integrity.
She is also charged with aiding and abetting sex trafficking, money laundering, illegal immigration, and crimes organized by international organized crime groups.
A young Nigerian woman arrived at the commercial port of Augusta (Sicily) in July 2016 and informed authorities that she had taken a bus from Nigeria to Libya and then crossed the Mediterranean to reach Italy by taking on a debt of $30,000 in “travel expenses.” This sparked an investigation that was coordinated by DDA anti-mafia investigators in Catania.
The woman said that while she was in “detention” in Libya, she had been subjected to physical and mental torture by the guys who were watching her and had been informed that she would be forced to work as a prostitute.
She requested assistance from the police after arriving in Italy, according to forensic sources.
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