Polish man arrested over Milan model abduction

Italian police have released a mugshot of a 30-year-old Polish man who they say has been arrested over the abduction of a British model in Italy last month.

Lukasz Pawel Herba, who has British residency, was picked up by Milan police on July 18, a day after the model was released and dropped off at the British consulate in the city. He was jailed for investigation of suspected kidnapping for extortion purposes.

The 20-year-old woman had been lured to Milan by the promise of a modelling shoot, after the alleged kidnappers had contacted her agent to book her. When she arrived in the city on July 10 she was told to turn up for a photography session the following day.

Upon arriving at the apartment, she was attacked by two men, according to local police. She was subsequently drugged, forced into a suitcase and driven away to a house outside the city, where she was handcuffed and held captive.

A statement from Milan police headquarters detailed the woman's ordeal.

"Attacked, drugged, handcuffed and closed inside a suitcase, that's how a 20-year-old English model was kidnapped on July 11 in Milan to be sold to the best offer on pornography sites," on the internet, the statement said.

"The kidnappers loaded the suitcase with the girl (inside) into a car trunk" and drove to a rural home in a hamlet outside Turin, the statement said. In the house, "the model was kept handcuffed to a wooden dresser in a bedroom" until she was released on July 17, the police said.

Police believe that Pawel Herba has advertised the ‘sale’ of the woman on the internet, as well as demanding a ransom from the woman's agent of $300,000. Italian authorities believe that no ransom was paid for her release.

Corriere della Sera, a Milan newspaper, reported that the kidnapper let his victim go because he discovered she had a child and considered her unsuitable for the sex trade.