NAPLES, Italy, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Four Nigerians were arrested in Naples, Italy, for forcing fellow countrywomen into prostitution using coercive means, including voodoo, police said.
The suspects, two couples, were granted political asylum in Italy and lived in separate areas of Naples and allegedly applied physical and psychological torture to their victims that included voodoo rituals, the Italian news agency ANSA reported Friday.
The suspects promised to secure jobs in Italy for women traveling from Nigeria, charging up to $91,000 to transport people from Africa, but once in Italy forced them into prostitution through intimidation, voodoo and, in some cases, holding the women's children as ransom until travel debts were repaid, the news agency said.
