Italian police have arrested two Nigerians and three other African migrants over the alleged abduction and gang rape of a Colombian tourist in Rome.
According to a report by British news outlet, Daily Express, on Thursday, the victim, 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.
She was reportedly taken in a van to an abandoned building on the eastern outskirts of Rome, where she was allegedly held captive for about 72 hours.
Authorities said the woman was repeatedly raped, drugged and threatened during the period.
The victim reportedly escaped from the building before she was found half-naked on a pavement by a passerby, who alerted emergency responders.
Police later raided the property and arrested five suspects identified as Saidykhan Lamin and Karamba Kanteh, both Gambians aged 29 and 38 respectively; Harouna Traore, a 43-year-old Malian; and two Nigerians, Isibor Wisdom, 29, and Paul Nwabueze, 39.
The suspects have been charged with gang rape aggravated by the victim’s vulnerable condition and remain in police custody.
Authorities said investigations were ongoing to apprehend other suspects believed to have participated in the incident, including the man who allegedly lured the woman away from the restaurant and the driver who transported her to the building.
Police also said 22 undocumented migrants were discovered during the raid on the abandoned property, with 11 reportedly transferred to detention centres pending deportation procedures.
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