Homosexual male prostitutes, most of whom are South American, are said to be behind at least 15 arson attacks as they fight over territory in a Roman park.
All of the arson attacks have taken place at the Appian Way Regional Park, a massive 3,400-hectare common and the largest urban park in all of Europe.
The latest fire attack took place on Tuesday and saw 48-year-old Guatemalan migrant Carlos Alfredo Bendfeldt arrested after allegedly setting fires at several different points within the park.
Authorities found lighters and other materials used to set fires along with a bag full of condoms, fueling speculation that he was also a prostitute working in the area, Il Giornale reports.
The management of the Appia Antica Regional Park have complained to the police about the arson incidents since mid-June, and the fires have even reportedly interfered with the local rail network.
For the last month, Carabinieri officers have been placed in various areas of the park to monitor and prevent fresh attacks. Il Giornale says the attacks could affect the archaeological sites and ancient buildings located in the park that date back to the Ancient Roman period.
Italy has seen a real problem with migrants forced into prostitution, particularly Nigerian women brought into the country by the vicious Nigerian mafia.
Last year, it was revealed that Nigerian mafia gangs operating in Italy were forcing girls as young as 12 into prostitution.
A 15-year-old who escaped the mafia told Italian investigators that older women in the group, often former prostitutes themselves, would control them, and the gangs would smuggle the young girls into the country illegally.
In early December 2019, police from several European countries, including Italy, the UK, and France, busted a Nigerian mafia network accused of people-trafficking, drug dealing, and extortion.