Lahore, July 4,2026: Two foreign women have alleged that they were kidnapped, held for ransom, physically assaulted and sexually abused during a multi-day ordeal in Lahore, according to statements recorded before a judicial magistrate at the cantonment courts.
The two women — one a Dutch national and the other a Venezuelan citizen — recorded their statements on Thursday, the same day police registered a case against five suspects following their rescue. Four of the suspects, including a close relative of a senior political figure, were arrested and later remanded in police custody for five days.
The case was registered at Defence C Police Station under serious provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code, including Section 365-A relating to kidnapping for extortion and Section 375-A relating to rape.
According to the Dutch complainant’s statement recorded under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, she and her Venezuelan friend arrived in Pakistan on June 26 at the invitation of a local business associate whom they had met in Singapore in October 2025.
She alleged that the prime suspect, who presented himself as being well connected to influential circles, arranged their visit on the pretext of facilitating meetings with potential investors for her company.
The woman said the two visitors spent three days in Islamabad, during which they attended business presentations and also visited Nathia Gali, before travelling to Lahore by road on June 29.
According to her statement, the suspect took them to a house in Lahore under the pretext of attending a relative’s birthday celebration. Shortly after they entered the residence, four armed men allegedly stormed the premises, tied their hands and subjected them to physical violence.
The complainant alleged that the suspect initially pretended to be a fellow victim but later it became clear that he was acting in collusion with the armed men.
She told the magistrate that the captors demanded ransom starting from $2 million and threatened to kill the women and sell their organs if the money was not paid. The two women were allegedly separated during captivity, with one kept upstairs and the other downstairs under armed guard.
The Dutch woman further alleged that the main suspect and another man forcibly transferred $17,000 in cryptocurrency from her accounts and repeatedly pressured her to send desperate voice notes to family and friends seeking money.
She said she managed to insert a pre-arranged distress code word — “CARLITOS” — into her messages, prompting her family in Europe to alert international and Pakistani law enforcement authorities.
The complainant also alleged that she was sexually assaulted by one of the armed men during the night of June 30.
According to her statement, the suspect later claimed on July 1 that he was taking the women to the airport, but she realised he was misleading them after secretly tracking the route on a hidden mobile phone. Fearing they were being moved to another location, the women allegedly jumped out of the vehicle after it slowed following a minor collision and ran to a nearby mechanic’s shop for help.
A traffic police officer spotted the women and called for emergency assistance. Police officials later arrived at the scene and shifted the victims to safety after assuring them that the case had already been under investigation.
The Venezuelan woman also recorded a separate statement before the magistrate, corroborating the Dutch national’s account. She alleged that she had met the prime suspect at a cryptocurrency event in Singapore and had trusted him after he claimed to be the son of a senior government minister and displayed photographs suggesting links with top political figures.
She said the women were taken to an isolated residence after arriving in Pakistan, where they were held captive, threatened and repeatedly pressured to provide access to financial assets.
The Venezuelan complainant further alleged that she too was sexually assaulted by two men during the captivity and that the captors used broken glass to threaten them with physical harm.
Police are continuing their investigation into the case, while the victims’ statements have been sealed by the magistrate for further legal proceedings.
