Police have arrested four
Nigerian asylum seekers in Italy who are accused of using voodoo
rituals to manipulate young women they trafficked and forced
into prostitution, sources said Tuesday.
The suspects were named as ringleader Joy Jhon, 30, her
boyfriend Nosa Amen, 27, Sylvester Imadi, 24, and Confidence
Ogbeide Oriaifo, 25. They may face charges of enslavement as
well as abetting prostitution and illegal immigration.
Police uncovered the sex trafficking ring after a priest
helped one of the young women escape the prostitution circuit
near the city of Bari in southern Italy.
The witness told police she had been forced to work as a
street walker by the ring along with four other young women, who
were recruited from Nigerian villages with the promise of a
better life.
Once chosen in Nigeria, they were made to undergo a voodoo
ritual and encouraged into prostitution before they arrived in
Europe.
Here, each young woman reportedly earned the ringleader 800
euros a week.
The witness was rescued during the sea crossing to Italy,
where she was taken to a migrant reception centre. At this point
she could have escaped, but the voodoo ritual had incapacitated
her psychologically and bound her to the group, she told police.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
