Man held over dark web sex auction plot
A young British model was held captive and auctioned on the dark web for £270,000.
The 20-year- old beauty had been lured to Milan by a fake photoshoot and taken prisoner at a studio by two men.
She was kept drugged and handcuffed for six days in a remote farmhouse while she was put up for sale on encrypted websites favoured by crooks and drug dealers.
But she was freed unharmed, police said, after the gang behind her kidnapping discovered that she had a two-year-old child – which meant abducting her was against their code.
Lukasz Herba, a Pole l iv ing in Birmingham, has appeared in court in Milan over the kidnap conspiracy.
Investigators say he had tried to sell her for sexual services on the dark web in exchange for £270,000 in bitcoin.
It is alleged that Herb a later demanded 50,000 euros to free her and threatened to kill the model if she told officers what had happened.
Prosecutors say that Herba is linked to the Black Death criminal network who operate on the dark web and he had dealings in “chemicals and poisons” .
The court heard the model arrived in Milan on July 11, and was seized near the central station and drugged with animal tranquiliser ketamine.
Prosecutors described the kidnapping as a “very well- organised seizure”.
They are still unclear whether the kidnappers actually intended to sell her or were aiming to con prospective buyers out of cash.
Officers went through Herba’s phone and computer and said they found photos of the woman and material stating she was for sale. Her hair was found in the boot of his car.
It is understood Herba was arrested as he took the woman to the British consulate in Milan.