The operation was carried out by Flying squad police in the Sicilian city of Siracusa, in collaboration with police in Foggia to arrest a Nigerian woman living in Foggia.

The suspect who is believed to be the ‘Madame’ of a sex trafficking ring was arrested in the Puglia province of Foggia on Tuesday, police confirmed in a statement on Friday, February 17, 2023.

The arrest warrant was issued by a preliminary investigations judge (GIP) on February 8 in Catania, Sicily.

The suspect, who is in pre-trial custody, allegedly organized a prostitution ring, recruiting young women in Nigeria and forcing them to work as prostitutes in Italy, according to investigators.

According to police, the young women and girls were forced into prostitution using deceit and voodoo rituals, with death threats against the victims and their families.

The suspect allegedly convinced the victims to flee detention scenters after their arrival in Italy and to work for her by intimidating them through juju rites (also known as voodoo rites).

The Nigerian citizen faces charges including human trafficking, enslavement, aggravated by the fact that some of her alleged victims were minors, as well as threatening their lives and physical integrity by inducing them to travel from Nigeria to Italy through a perilous Mediterranean crossing, under the control of criminals who abused them, investigative sources said.

She is also accused of contributing to commit a crime organized by a transnational organized criminal group, aiding and abetting illegal immigration, sex trafficking and money laundering.