Sex slavers in PR push
Gave kidnapped model ‘talking points’
A GROUP that calls itself Black Death — accused of stuffing a British model into a suitcase and holding her hostage for six days — tried to put a positive media spin on the ordeal and her captors, according to a report.
Authorities investigating the alleged kidnapping of model Chloe Ayling, 20, in Italy last month said her kidnappers fed the stunner talking points about the group to give to the media upon her release.
A letter to Ayling found on a suspect’s computer said the abducted woman “agreed to sneak a predetermined set of information into the media, and we will expect to see evidence that has been done in near future,” according to The Independent, a British newspaper.
The letter, written in English, laid out a series of demands made of Ayling upon her release. The note also suggested that despite the snatch-and-drug caper, the kidnapping was intended to be used as a publicity event for the group.
The letter warned that anything Ayling said publicly in the wake of the kidnapping would be monitored.
“You have been treated fairly, with respect and we expect to hear exactly the same about us in return,” the letter said.
Officials said they could not verify the authenticity of the Black Death group, or that anyone from the group had written the letter.
Ayling said she traveled to Milan for a July 11 photo shoot. After her arrival, Ayling said, she was abducted by men who injected her with a tranquilizer, put a pillowcase over her head, handcuffed her and stuffed her in a suitcase that they crammed into the trunk of a car.
Cops said they drove her to a farmhouse outside Turin, where she stayed handcuffed to a wooden dresser while her captors tried to find a buyer on the sex slave market.
Authorities said her captors were trying to get $300,000 for her online until she told them she had a 2-yearold child.
“You have a 2-yearold child and our rules exclude mothers,” one of the kidnappers told the young mom, according to a report.
The model managed to lead authorities to the farmhouse where she had been held.
Lukasz Herba, a 30-year-old Polish citizen who lives in Oldbury, England, was arrested July 18. He confessed to his role in the kidnapping after dropping Ayling off at the British consulate in Milan, police said.
The woman said she had not eaten in days.
The letter said it had been a “mistake” to take Ayling into custody.
The letter also demanded Ayling pay $50,000 in bitcoin within a month.
The model’s lawyer said she was recovering at home with her family.