Model kidnapping: Italian police hunt for accomplices in Milan sex slave ring

Criminal gang allegedly tried to auction Chloe Ayling on the dark web for £230,000

Italian and British police continue their investigations into the alleged kidnapping of Chloe Ayling

Italian police are looking for possible accomplices to the alleged abduction of a British model in Milan last month.

British resident Lukasz Pawel Herba, originally from Poland, was arrested on charges of abduction and illegal imprisonment of 20-year-old glamour model Chloe Ayling.

While police have confirmed they are looking for at least one other man following Herba’s arrest, some details of the case remain unclear.

According to Italian news reports, Ms Ayling told police she was attacked on July 11 by two men as she attended an arranged photo shoot in the city.

She said she was aware of three other people involved in the kidnapping, but didn’t see their faces.

The model is believed to have been drugged with horse tranquilliser ketamine and transported in a bag to Borgial, an isolated village near Turin, before being released on July 17, according to Italian police.

She was then detained for six days while her captor reportedly tried to auction her off online as a sex slave.

Ms Ayling, who arrived back at her home in Coulsdon, south London, on Sunday, told reporters from her doorstep: “I've been through a terrifying experience. I feared for my life, second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour.

”I am incredibly grateful to the Italian and UK authorities for all they have done to secure my safe release.“

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said it has been assisting with the investigation.

A spokesman said: ”The NCA and the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (Emsou) have been working closely with the Italian authorities since the kidnap was reported.

“NCA officers in Italy and specialists from our anti kidnap and extortion unit are also providing support to the Polizia di Stato as part of the ongoing investigation.

”A house in the Oldbury area linked to Lukasz Pawel Herba was searched on July 18 by Emsou officers with assistance from West Midlands Police.

“Computer equipment seized is being forensically examined.”

Herba has been described as being capable of causing serious physical harm to the alleged victim, but the case prosecution said his account of events were “barely credible”.

It is alleged the men tried to sell Ms Ayling online for more than 300,000 dollars (£230,000) and demanded the model's agent pay to secure her safe release.

Detectives have suggested the threat may have been staged however, in order to claim a ransom fee from the model’s agent and family.

Ms Ayling was kept handcuffed to furniture but was freed after six days and taken to the British consulate in Milan, despite the ransom not being paid, police said.

It has been reported the captor demanded £50,000 upon her release and threatened to kill her if she told police about the incident.

On July 17, for reasons that are still not clear, Herba drove the woman back to Milan and released her close to the British Consulate, where he was arrested.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday, Milan deputy prosecutor Paolo Storari said: “Fantasist or not, what is clear is that he is a very dangerous man who drugged his victim as soon as she was kidnapped and put her inside a large travel bag in the boot of a car.

“His version of events is barely credible but clearly he does not deny that he was with her for the time she was missing."

Milan police officer Lorenzo Bucossi told reporters the group the suspect was allegedly working for offered “mercenary services” on the dark web.

According to a translation, Mr Bucossi said: “Certainly the author of this very serious crime is a dangerous person, don't forget he was also ready to carry out a 'final solution', as he called it.

”He was a killer and was working for an organisation on the deep web that is offering mercenary services such as bombing attacks, kidnapping and the selling of girls on the dark web.“

Italian police said they are working with officials in Britain and Poland as they continue to investigate.