Kidnap model’s tale was a sham and a publicity stunt – accused
THe kidnapping of British model Chloe Ayling was a ‘sham’ and a ‘publicity stunt’, a lawyer for one of the alleged captors claimed yesterday.
Miss 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 handcuffed, 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 Miss Ayling on the dark web for 300,000 euros (£270,000) after she was taken from Milan to a farmhouse 120 miles away in Turin.
He was arrested after he took the mother of one, from Coulsdon, 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 36-year-old appeared at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to fight extradition, having been held since he was apprehended near Sandwell, in the West Midlands.
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 Miss 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 Miss 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.
Miss Ayling’s had said the group released her because she was a mother. But Mr Hepburne Scott questioned the ‘inherent implausibility’ of a ‘hardened criminal being willing to drug, kidnap, and hold a person against their will’ before changing their mind several days into the crime after discovering their captive had a child.
‘This case has a unique set of anomalies which might lead to the conclusion that the Italian authorities have been duped and that their process has been abused,’ he said.
He added: ‘The same com- plainant, it seems, generated publicity from the fact she was nearby the scene of a terrorist attack at the Champselysees in Paris.
‘The fairness and accuracy of the information in the [arrest warrant] is at the very least highly questionable given... information which powerfully suggests that the entire case is a sham.’
District Judge Paul Goldspring said much of the material relied on by Mr Hepburne came from press reports, which did not in itself prove any of the theories in the case. But Mr Hepburne Scott said: ‘I’ve looked at interviews of the complainant ... The information seems to come from the complainant herself.’
Prosecutor Florence Iveson said Michal Herba had been requested by the court of Milan in relation to an offence of kidnapping arising from events between July 11 and 17.
The court heard the Italian authorities have DNA, video and telephone evidence to support their request. CCTV images previously released by Italian authorities appear to show the brothers in Milan on July 10, a day before the alleged kidnapping.
Judge Goldspring indicated he would give his judgment on Friday.
Since the incident Miss 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 last night.
‘At the very least questionable’