KIDNAPPED BRIT MODEL AUCTIONED FOR £230K
Mum, 20, lured to a fake photo shoot where she was drugged and held prisoner
A BRITISH model was kidnapped and drugged in Italy by criminals who tried to sell her for £230,000.
The 20-year-old mum was rescued after being snatched on a fake photo shoot. UK-based Lukasz Herba, 30, was last night held in Milan for abduction.
A BRITISH model was yesterday telling cops of her terrifying kidnap ordeal at the hands of a gang of online traffickers.
All the 20-year-old mum remembers is having a suitcase thrown over her head during a photoshoot in fashion capital Milan.
She was then injected with horse tranquilliser ketamine and photographed naked before being stuffed in the case and driven 120 miles to a farmhouse near Turin.
She was kept handcuffed to a wooden chest of drawers inside a rented house for a week.
Her kidnappers – called the Black Death Group – posted sick pictures of her on the Dark Web offering her for sale at £230,000.
But when the suspected gang leader, a Polish immigrant from Birmingham, discovered she was a
mum he offered her to her modelling agency for the same price to stop the auction. Then in desperation Lukasz Pawel Herba, 30, asked Milan police for a £50,000 ransom.
He was later arrested as he took the woman to the British Consulate in Milan. Police said he had confessed to the kidnap near Milan’s central station on July 11.
Yesterday the victim had to relive her nightmare when she was taken back to the remote farmhouse in Borgial, an isolated village.
Last night a family friend said: “They thought they would never see her alive again. She has been through hell. We just want to get her home”.
Italian sources told the Sunday Mirror she had just finished the photoshoot arranged by the agency duped into sending her. Milan police investigator Serena Ferrari said: “The psychological pressure on the girl has been extreme. She was very afraid.”
The Sunday Mirror has uncovered her abductors’ Dark Web “advert” which features a disturbing image of her dressed in just a velvet body suit, looking dazed and lying on the floor with her left breast exposed.
Her captors had even placed a calling card on her stomach. The ad by Black Death Group – which refers to victims as “merchandise” – also features a series of horrifying promises about the women they traffic and a list of the woman’s personal details including her dimensions.
The gang – which operates using the Bitcoin currency – boast they can “kidnap a specific target for your needs” and assure free “EU delivery” of victims.
But Italian media said boss Herba agreed to release the model because she has a child – and the gang’s “rules exclude kidnapping mothers”.
Herba, who lived alone in a threestory block of flats in Oldbury, appeared in court in Milan on Friday.
British police raided his Midlands flat on July 18. Officers reportedly found photos of the model and documents stating she was for sale on Herba’s phone and computer.
Herba – who also went by the name Daniel Zawada – reportedly posted the photos on the Black Death Group page.
The “advert” outlined the model’s age, size and ethnicity, plus the details of where she was kidnapped – along with a “starting bid” of $300,000 (£230,000). The site includes a list of sickening terms and conditions for prospective buyers.
“Girl is only pure if profile says so,” the page says.
The page discusses “delivery” and “collection” arrangements, stating that “collection can be arranged” and promising global trafficking “for a price”. It is thought several requests were made to “buy” the model.
The model’s representatives received an email saying she was
being “auctioned” on July 13. It contained a screenshot of the site’s “rules” alongside the haunting image of the sedated victim and details of how to “bid”.
Italian newspaper La Stampa claimed the model’s agent was contacted by the gang with a cash demand for her
freedom. When the agent reported the matter to police the gang demanded a £50,000 ransom from the force for her safe return. It was alleged a “threat to kill her” was made if she passed on incriminating details. Her agency said she was due to fly home to the UK today. A spokesman said: “She has been with the police visiting the crime scene. I have been in touch with her family the whole time. “Our prime concern now is to get her back safely.” A neighbour who lives opposite Herba said: “He used to drive a red Toyota and come racing up to the front door before driving off again about half an hour later.
“He was never in the flat for long. He seemed like a bit of a loner.”
West Midlands Police said: “An address in Oldbury, was raided by police at 1:12am on July 18. Derbyshire Police are leading the enquiries.”
Italian police said they are working with officials in Britain and Poland as they continue to investigate.