Italian Police have arrested 11 Nigerians for trafficking young women and girls to Italy.
According to the Italian authorities, the traffickers take the victims from Nigeria to exploit them as sex slaves in the southern Italian city of Catania.
Making the revelation on Monday, Police Officer Antonio Salvago said that the victims underwent a voodoo rite to bind them to their debts after they promised to pay up to 40,000 euros ($43,000) for a journey they thought would bring them to a better life in Europe. Salvago noted that the rite makes them obey their smugglers and pimps.
The victims, all under age 25 and some as young as 16, travelled through Libya before crossing the Mediterranean by boat with thousands of other migrants.
Catania Chief Prosecutor Carmelo Zuccaro added that the investigation shows that illegal immigration breeds more serious crimes of exploitation and forced prostitution.
