Five Arrested in Rome After They Gang-Raped a Tourist for 72 Hours

ROME — Five men are in police custody following the brutal abduction, drugging, and 72-hour gang rape of a 32-year-old Colombian tourist in an abandoned building on the outskirts of the Italian capital.

​The victim, who had arrived in Rome on May 9, was dining alone near the central Termini Station when she was approached by a man offering to sell her hashish. After agreeing to follow him, she was led on a 30-minute walk to a waiting van, where she was forcibly abducted and driven to a derelict structure on Via Cesare Tallone in the eastern suburb of Tor Cervara.

​For the next three days, the woman was held captive in the building, which was illegally occupied by dozens of squatters. Investigators state that five men repeatedly drugged her, threatened her life, and subjected her to multiple sexual assaults. The attackers also stripped her of her mobile phone and wallet.

​The victim eventually managed to escape the compound and was found wandering half-naked by a local Italian resident, who immediately transported her to the nearby Casilino Hospital. Medical staff at the facility confirmed clear physical signs of severe violence and toxicology reports indicated an altered state consistent with forced drugging.

​The assault triggered an immediate, large-scale operation by Italy’s Flying Squad (Section IV), supported by the Prenestino district police, forensic teams, and the Police Headquarters’ Immigration Office. Officers raided the Tor Cervara property, identifying 22 non-EU citizens living there with illegal immigration status.

​Following a photographic lineup, the victim positively identified her attackers. Police have arrested and charged five African nationals with aggravated gang rape, citing the deliberate exploitation of the victim’s defenseless state. The suspects have been identified as Saidykhan Lamin (29) and Karamba Kanteh (38) of Gambia; Harouna Traore (43) of Mali; and Isibor Wisdom (29) and Paul Nwabueze (39) of Nigeria. They remain in custody pending formal identity verification.

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​The investigation remains active as detectives hunt for three additional suspects: the individual who initially lured the tourist from the restaurant, the driver of the abduction vehicle, and the owner of the abandoned building. Charges regarding kidnapping and aggravated robbery are also being processed.

​Of the remaining 17 illegal squatted residents detained during the raid, half have already been issued formal expulsion orders and transferred to pre-removal detention centers in Ponte Galeria, Palazzo San Gervasio, and Bari.