The police said raids in cities in northern and southern Italy as well as on the island of Sardinia yielded 40 arrests. The suspects are being held for investigation of alleged money-laundering, facilitating illegal immigration, human trafficking, putting persons into slavery and exploiting prostitution. While prostitution is legal in Italy, the exploitation of prostitutes is illegal. The police in a statement said while the Nigerian crime syndicate was based in Italy, its operations extended to Germany, Libya and Nigeria. "Forty-one young women (were) assigned to prostitution, while nine were forced to beg,'' the statement said.

Source: Libya Today November 22, 2021 15:47 UTC