Dutch women 'kidnapped and gang-raped' after travelling to Pakistan to meet 'investors'
A pair of Dutch women were allegedly kidnapped and gang-raped after travelling to Pakistan to meet a group of so-called "investors".
Four men have now been arrested in connection to the alleged sexual offences.
The 35-year-old woman said she arrived in Pakistan on June 26 after being invited by the grandson of a top politician, who promised networking opportunities with investors for her company.
The two were picked up by the politician's grandson, who allegedly provided them with the visas needed to visit the country.
After spending three days in Islamabad, the women said they were taken to an abandoned house in Lahore under the pretence of it being his aunt's birthday.
The women alleged that on June 29 they were then repeatedly raped, beaten and threatened with death.
The Pakistani men then allegedly demanded a ransom of $1.5million as they threatened to sell the women's organs, according to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf.
"After hitting me for a few minutes, they said they wanted money. First they asked for $200,000, then $700,000, then a million, up to 2 million," the woman said.
"I said I had no money. But he insisted, otherwise he would kill me."
The men then used her phone to send $17,000 to their crypto wallet, according to Dutch media.
The women were told by the men that enough money had been paid by family members, and they were to be driven to the airport to be returned.
But she said they were skeptical of the remarks.
Suddenly, the politician's grandson crashed his car into the one in front of him, the woman said.
They then used the opportunity to jump out of the car, the woman told local media.
"We ran screaming into a garage. My friend had grabbed our passports and I our mobile phones," she said.
They were found by a traffic officer on the scene who "called the right people" as the police arrived.
The two women were left distrusting of the situation, but a separate police car with a female officer eventually managed to calm them down.
Police are currently investigating the incident and searching for the stolen cryptocurrency.
A spokeswoman for the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it was aware of the case.
"We are providing consular assistance," she said.
"Due to privacy, the ministry cannot comment further on individual cases."