A medical examination has confirmed sexual assault in a case involving two foreign women who alleged they were abducted, gang-raped and robbed in Lahore’s Defence area, police sources said on Saturday.

The development comes as the statement of one of the complainants, a Venezuelan national identified as Astrid Gabriela Robinson, recorded before a magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code, has emerged, in which she reiterated allegations made by the second complainant.

According to the sources, an initial medical report confirmed sexual assault in the case of one of the two foreign women.

Three of the four suspects currently in custody have been accused of committing the alleged assault.

Police said DNA samples collected from the complainants and the suspects have been sent to the Punjab Forensic Science Agency for analysis, while mobile phones recovered from the accused have also been dispatched for forensic examination to obtain digital evidence.

Investigators said the next phase of the probe would proceed after the receipt of forensic and DNA reports.

Preliminary investigations have also revealed that the suspects and the complainants had business dealings involving cryptocurrency investments reportedly worth between $400,000 and $500,000.

Investigators said the suspects, including the principal accused identified as Raza Dar, had allegedly demanded profits from the women.

According to the police, the suspects forced the women to transfer approximately $19,000 from their digital wallets into accounts controlled by the accused.

In her statement before the magistrate, Robinson said that her account of events was consistent with that provided by the second complainant, identified as Stephanie Adriana.

According to the statement, Robinson alleged that after arriving in Pakistan, the women were taken to a house where, on the first night, several armed men entered, tied them up and subjected them to physical violence while demanding information about money, computers and passwords.

She further alleged that she was threatened with death if money was not handed over and that she was subsequently subjected to sexual assault.

The complainant also alleged that one of the assailants, who was dressed in black clothing, assaulted her physically, while another individual who spoke fluent English warned her that she would not leave alive if the group’s demands were not met.

According to the statement, she was later taken to another floor of the house, where she alleged she was sexually assaulted multiple times before being returned to the room where the others were present.

Meanwhile, Lahore’s Deputy Inspector General (Investigation), Syed Zeeshan Raza, said the suspects were being treated like any other accused persons and had not been given any special protocol.

He said the suspects had remained in police lock-up since their arrest and were produced before the court in handcuffs.

“The investigation is being conducted strictly on merit, and no injustice will be done to any party,” the DIG said.

Police said the investigation remains ongoing.