(NewsNation) — Authorities are casting a wider net in their investigation into Negasi Zuberi, the man accused of keeping a woman locked in a makeshift cell in his Oregon home.
The FBI has asked possible victims of Zuberi, 29, across the country to come forward. NewsNation’s Nancy Loo has learned the FBI’s investigation has now extended to 12 states after authorities added Michigan and Illinois to the probe.
FBI agents recently determined that Zuberi lived or spent time in Chicago in January 2019. They also believe he was in Ecorse, Michigan, in April 2017. The FBI says Zuberi previously resided in or frequented California, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, Utah, Florida, New York, New Jersey, Alabama and Nevada, as well.
Investigators say Zuberi goes by different aliases including Sakima, Justin Hyche and Justin Kouassi, and that he uses different approaches to control his victims.
“Sakima has several different methods to gain control of his victims, including drugging their drinks, pretending to be a police officer, and soliciting the services of sex workers and then violently sexually assaulting them,” the FBI posted. “Some of the encounters may have been filmed to make it appear as if the assault was consensual. The victims are threatened with retaliation if they notify the police.”
The FBI’s inquiry came after Zuberi was arrested in Nevada and charged in federal court with interstate kidnapping and transporting an individual across state lines with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity out of Oregon.
The charges stem from a Seattle kidnapping July 15. Authorities say Zuberi solicited a woman for prostitution, posed as an undercover police officer, handcuffed her, put her in leg irons and raped her on the way to Klamath Falls, Oregon.
Once at the Klamath Falls home, court documents say Zuberi put the woman in a makeshift cell in the garage. She managed to break some of the door’s welded joints, climb through it and escape.
Police reported finding a legal pad with bullet-point notes for his “Operation Take Over.” The FBI said the notes included a reminder to go after women who would not be missed to avoid “any kind of investigation” and a sketch of plans for an apparent dungeon buried 100 feet below the ground.
Zuberi is waiting to be extradited to Oregon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.