Brit model who escaped the clutches of shadowy crime gang called the Black Death fears they will come back to get her
A BRIT model who escaped the clutches of a shadowy crime gang called the Black Death fears they will come back to snatch her again.
Chloe Ayling is believed to have been drugged and transported to an isolated Italian village after being grabbed at a bogus photo shoot.
She was said to have been held for six days in a Italian house as her captors tried to auction her off as a sex slave online before one of her alleged captors led he to safety.
Now Chloe has revealed even though she is finally back home she is terrified her captors may track her down once again.
"I feel so happy to be home but I still feel wary. In the back of my mind part of me is still worried that maybe Black Death is real and they will come after me," she .
"Even after my kidnapper was taken into custody, I was still terrified. I feared other members of Black Death might be hunting for me.
"I could barely eat or sleep. The first time I finally spoke to my mum, two days after my release, I broke down and wept. I just cried and cried."
One of the model's captors told her she was one of the lucky ones.
"He told me I was lucky as only six girls had ever been released from the thousands taken by Black Death, and that was because their parents had paid their ransom," she said.
"This experience has taught me what is really important in life. I am so happy to finally be home. People were criticising me for smiling when I was photographed back home – but why wouldn’t I smile? I survived."
In her first interview, the 20-year-old said she was injected with ketamine after being lured to a fake modelling shoot in Milan before being bundled into the boot of a car and told she was going to be sold to the highest bidder.
Ms Ayling, of Coulsdon, south London, has recalled her abduction calling it her "worst nightmare".
Her alleged kidnappers told her they had taken the "wrong woman" as she had a son - but that she would be auctioned off with bids starting at 300,000 dollars (£230,000).
Chloe was eventually taken to the British Consulate in Milan by one of the captors after her "horrific ordeal", but could not return home to London for almost three weeks.
She has faced accusations that she has made the story up, but she told the newspaper that she is confident the truth will ultimately come out.
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"I understand why people have questions," she said.
"People need to understand that everything I did was so I could survive. I was in a crazy situation and I was terrified.
"It has been so frustrating and hurtful to have people not believe me. I know the truth, my family knows the truth and it will all come out at the trial."
Meanwhile, the chief suspect in the alleged kidnap has said he did not knowingly take part in any crime.
Lukasz Herba says his involvement stems from wanting to raise money to treat his leukaemia and that he was hired by a group of Romanians to rent properties around Europe to store garments they were selling, according to reports.