I Gico financiers of the Palermo Economic and Financial Police Unit have arrested 4 people, including a Nigerian woman and an Italian citizen, accused of belonging to a transnational criminal organization dedicated to aiding illegal immigration, human trafficking and the exploitation of prostitution. The operation took place between Palermo, Naples, Dervio in the province of Lecco, Bergamo, concluding with the identification and capture of the leader of the organization - already a political refugee - at the Orio al Serio airport. The investigation by the Guardia di Finanza, coordinated by the Palermo DDA, has allowed the organization that operated between Nigeria, Libya and Italy to be dismantled, forcing young Nigerian women - in exchange for the promise of job opportunities in our country - to take on a debt of 30 thousand euros, as payment for the trip to Italy and for starting a job. The girls – who were in fact forced into prostitution – were in an evident state of psychological vulnerability, determined by the celebration of macabre “Voodoo” rites to guarantee the debt contracted. The women were then transferred to Libya, where they were forced to remain in detention facilities before being taken on a boat to Italy. From the first reception centers in Sicily, they were subsequently forced into prostitution, with the obligation to gradually redeem the agreed sum to regain their freedom and avoid consequences for them and their families in Nigeria.
Article published on 13 June 2019 - 08:37
