Milan model kidnap plot: Shock as Oldbury suspect quizzed by police
A man based in the Black Country is at the centre of an international investigation for allegedly kidnapping a model and trying to sell her on the ‘dark web’.
The British women was kidnapped in Milan and detained for six days as her captor tried to auction her off online, Italian police have said.
The 20-year-old victim, named in reports as Chloe Ayling, was attacked on July 11 by two men as she attended an arranged photo shoot.
She is believed to have been drugged and transported in a bag to Borgial, an isolated village near Turin, before being released on July 17.
A day later police raided a home in Tividale, near Oldbury, where they arrested Lukasz Pawel Herba.
Officials have released a mugshot of the Polish man, aged 30, who is being detained on suspicion of kidnap and extortion.
Residents who live in the three-storey apartment block, just off Tower Road, confirmed to the Express & Star he is the man at the subject of the probe.
One resident said: “I have heard the news. Yes it was him that lived here. I am really concerned.
“You don’t think anything like this will come back to your doorstep.
“It has been non-stop people knocking my door asking questions about him over the last couple of days.”
One man, who knows Herba but did not wish to be named, said: “It is very difficult for me. This is very sad. I must speak to the police first. I cannot say any more at the moment.”
Neighbours have said Herba has not been seen for three weeks.
Prior to that they said he would come and go wearing a suit driving to and from the property in a red Toyota.
It is alleged two men tried to sell the model online for more than 300,000 dollars (£230,000) and demanded her agent pay to secure her safe release.
She was allegedly kept handcuffed to furniture but was freed after six days and taken to the British consulate in Milan, despite the ransom not being paid.
Milan police officer Lorenzo Bucossi stated the group the suspect was allegedly working for offered “mercenary services” on the dark web. According to reports he said: “Certainly the author of this very serious crime is a dangerous person.”
Model Ms Ayling has now flown back to the UK and returned to her home in Coulsdon, south London, according to reports.
Speaking on her doorstep she told how she had feared for her life throughout the “terrifying experience”.
Italian police said they are working with officials in Britain and Poland as they continue to investigate.
A spokeswoman for the Foreign Office said: “We have been providing consular support to a British woman in Italy and are in touch with local authorities.”
A West Midlands Police spokeswoman confirmed Derbyshire Constabulary are leading on the domestic investigation and it was their officers who executed the warrant at the Black Country property on July 18.
The east-Midlands based force were unavailable for further comment yesterday.
A National Crime Agency (NCA) spokesman said: “The NCA and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit have been providing support to the Italian authorities.”
