A hairdresser from New-Orleans was arrested this morning and accused of using his customers’ hair to create voodoo dolls and cast curses upon them.
According to the New-Orleans Police Department (NOPD), 29-year old Enoch Azaka collected the hair he cut from his customers at the Old City Barber Shop and used it in black magic rituals.
“We found a voodoo altar in the store’s basement with dozens of dolls. We also found baggies full of hair, each marked with the names of the customers it came from.”
New Orleans Police Chief Ronal Serpas says Mr. Azaka used his skills as a voodoo sorcerer to cause pain and illness to his victims in order to extort money and sexual favors.
The victims described suffering from acute migraines, back pain, severe rashes, respiratory problems and even some sudden and eerie hemorrhages that would cause blood to come out of their nose, eyes, and ears.
Mr. Azaka allegedly contacted them himself to explain that he was a powerful sorcerer and the cause of their pain.
“Some of his victims called us after he asked them for money. He showed them the dolls and threatened to increase their pain if the didn’t pay him thousands of dollars.”
Two of his female customers claim that instead of money, the accused asked them for sex in exchange for “dispelling the curses” he had cast on them.
Enoch Azaka now faces a total of 184 criminal charges, including 94 charges of theft, 32 charges of extortion and 48 charges of witchcraft.
Witchcraft and the practice of magical arts are still illegal in Lousiana under an old French law that predates the state’s acquisition by the United States in 1803.
The 1731 “Act against Sorcery and Witchcraft” provides that anyone who should “use, practice, or exercise any witchcraft, enchantment, charm or sorcery” shall be sentenced to a minimum of ten years of imprisonment.
If found guilty on all charges, Mr. Azaka could get a fine of $1,125,000 and face a total of 835 years of imprisonment.
He was freed a few hours after his arrest on a $120,000 bail and should be back in court in October for the beginning of his trial.
