Thirteen Nigerians were arrested in Italy on Thursday as part of an operation by Cagliari police against human trafficking and prostitution. They had forced a group of Nigerian women into prostitution in return for bringing them to Europe.
A group of Nigerian women were forced to prostitute themselves to pay off the 25,000-30,000 euros in debt the traffickers said they owed them for the journey. The six Nigerian prostitutes, including a minor, were rescued by Cagliari police in an operation against human trafficking and prostitution that led to 13 arrests, including nine men and four women, all Nigerian nationals.
The criminal organization had contacts and branches across Libya and Nigeria as well as other African countries and also in several Italian regions.
The women were targeted by accomplices in Nigeria and Ghana and were chosen on the basis of their physical appearance. They were persuaded to leave their country of origin with the promise of a job waiting for them in Europe. They were then taken to refugee camps in Libya, followed by a journey across the sea on a dinghy to Italy.
Once in Italian territory, the girls were treated as slaves and forced to sell their bodies. The traffickers threatened the victims, saying they would harm their children and families in Africa. They also used voodoo to scare the women.
The six Nigerians rescued by the Cagliari after a 15-year investigation had been forced to sell their bodies for at least 10 years. ''In one case it was seen,'' senior police officer Marco Basile said, ''that the recruitment occurred through Facebook and a promise that the young victim would find a legal job in Italy thanks to her fellow Nigerian. The latter made her promise, after taking a voodoo oath in the presence of the mothers of those under investigation, that she would pay 25,000 euros for the journey.'' The intimidation started once she reached Italy.
According to Basile, the girls were subjected to heavy psychological conditioning and their vulnerability was exploited. There were no leaders of the criminal organization and some of the women arrested were former prostitutes who later forced other women to become ones as well.