The latest story about the horrific kidnapping of a British model is the stuff nightmares are made up of.
Chloe Ayling was kidnapped while on a modeling gig in Italy but was miraculously let go after a few weeks.
In a bizarre twist, one of her kidnappers took her to the British Consulate and freed her.
While the police managed to round up the suspect who took her to the consulate, they are still looking for the rest of the people involved in the operation.
The arrested suspect's name is Lukasz Pawel Herba, a 30-year-old man of Polish descent living in the U.K.
The Story So Far
Ayling received a modeling job in Milan for the date of July 11 via her agent.
She then went to the proposed location only to find out that the job wasn't real.
According to her lawyer, she entered the apartment where the photo shoot was supposed to take place and was attacked by two men.
The men quickly subdued her by injecting her with a mixture of horse tranquilizers and anesthetic ketamine.
The men assaulted and drugged her to take her to their hideout.
Ayling was then handcuffed and stuffed into a travel bag before loading her into the trunk of their car.
According to the police, they took her to a cabin in a remote town in the Italian Alps.
But upon discovering that she was the mother of a small child, the kidnapper decided to free her.
According to her lawyer's statement, the kidnapper said that his organization doesn't allow the kidnapping of mothers.
He then proceeded to take Ayling to the British Consulate where she was freed.
Apparently, it was the pictures of her child on her Instagram account that ultimately saved her.
While the authorities found it hard to believe such a strange story, it was found to be corroborated as the suspect told them about what had happened.
According to her statement, Ayling was handcuffed to a wooden drawer in the cabin for over a week.
The kidnappers informed her that her agent would have to pay a ransom of $300,000 or she will be sold as a sex slave in the Middle East through a dark web auction.
The kidnappers also allegedly told her that they belonged to a group called The Black Death, which deals in the kidnapping and trafficking of human beings on the dark web.
Investigation is Ongoing
The Italian police announced that the kidnappers had used encrypted accounts to get in touch with the model's agent for ransom.
The authorities have also now established that the suspected kidnappers had already performed these auctions and sell the kidnapped victims under the code name of "prey."
The website where she was supposed to be auctioned off has images and descriptions of the victim and a starting price.
However, the police do have doubts regarding whether the suspects themselves made the site or if there were other people involved.
At this point, that part is still unclear.
The Black Death group was also involved in an earlier investigation regarding the kidnapping of a 15-year-old girl in 2016.
As reporters met her at her doorstep, she told them that she was scared and feared for her life while being locked up in the cabin.
She was unavailable for further interviews as she had to give a debriefing to government officials regarding the case.
Cracking Down on Dark Web Criminals
Britain's National Crime Agency and the Italian authorities are currently working together to unravel the ring of dark web kidnappers.
The dark web has been a notorious place for criminal activities ever since its inception.
Instances of child pornography, illegal weapons trading and other nefarious activities have been known to take place across many dark web sites.
Investigations regarding such sites have been ongoing for quite some time and some have even been successful.
If the authorities finally manage to uncover these criminals and eliminate their activities, the dark web might not be the go-to place for such perverted business.
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