‘Kidnap model’s tale was a publicity stunt’
THE high-profile kidnapping of a British model in Italy was a ‘sham’ and a ‘publicity stunt’, a lawyer for one of the alleged captors claimed yesterday.
Chloe Ayling, 20, told police she was abducted after being lured to a fake photo shoot in Italy in July.
It was claimed she was drugged and cuffed, and was going to be sold as a sex slave by a group called ‘Black Death’.
But yesterday lawyers acting on behalf of Michal Herba, the brother of the chief suspect, said there was a ‘real risk’ the case was a ‘sham’.
His sibling, Lukasz Herba, 30, is accused of trying to sell Ms Ayling on the dark web for €300,000 after she was taken from Milan to a farmhouse almost 200km away in Turin.
He was arrested after he took the mother-of-one, from south London, to the British Consulate in Italy, six days after the start of the ordeal. Michal Herba was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant issued last month. Yesterday the 36year-old appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to fight extradition, having been held since his arrest.
His lawyer, George Hepburne Scott, said there was a possibility that ‘the Italian authorities have been duped’. He added: ‘It would amount to an abuse of process of the court if there was any evidence to suggest this was a publicity stunt.’
Mr Hepburne Scott argued that prior to Ms Ayling’s release, Lukasz had ‘apparently issued a press release to a tabloid newspaper setting out that this lady was being held for auction’.
The lawyer pointed to an alleged incident in which Ms Ayling and her captor went shoe shopping, calling it a ‘wholly anomalous feature of a hostage situation’. She also went to breakfast with the kidnapper before her release when the pair found the consulate was closed, he added.
Judge Paul Goldspring said much of the material relied on by Mr Hepburne Scott came from press reports, which did not in itself prove any of the theories in the case. The judge indicated he would give his judgment on Friday.
Since the incident, Ms Ayling’s Instagram account has amassed over 250,000 followers. The model has posted a racy picture of herself in a bikini on the website every day for the past five days. Her agent was approached for comment.
‘At the very least questionable’