Italian police have arrested two Nigerians and three other African migrants over the alleged abduction and gang rape of a Colombian tourist in Rome.
A report by the Daily Express on Thursday, claimed that a 32-year-old Colombian woman was allegedly lured away from a restaurant in the Italian capital on May 19 by a man who offered to sell her hashish, a cannabis product.
Investigators said the victim was subsequently taken in a van to an abandoned building on the eastern outskirts of Rome, where the two Nigerians and their accomplices allegedly held her captive for nearly 72 hours.
Authorities alleged that the woman was repeatedly raped, drugged and threatened while the period of captivity lasted.
However, the victim managed to escape from the building before she was discovered half-naked on a pavement by a passerby, who alerted emergency responders.
Police later raided the property and arrested five suspects – two
two Nigerians identified as Isibor Wisdom, 29, and Paul Nwabueze, 39.
Others were identified as Saidykhan Lamin, 29, and Karamba Kanteh, 38, both Gambians; Harouna Traore and a 43-year-old Malian.
The suspects have been charged with aggravated gang rape due to the victim’s vulnerable condition and are currently in police custody.
Italian authorities said investigations were ongoing to track down other suspects believed to have participated in the incident, including the man who allegedly lured the woman from the restaurant and the driver who transported her to the abandoned building.
Police also disclosed that 22 undocumented migrants were found during the raid, with 11 transferred to detention centres pending deportation procedures.
