Chloe Ayling kidnap was NOT a publicity stunt, Italian court rules despite alleged abductor claiming she was in on it
BRIT glamour girl Chloe Ayling’s kidnapping was NOT a publicity stunt to make her famous, a court has ruled.
Lukasz Herba, who is charged with abducting the model had argued that the whole thing was staged in a bid to raise her profile.
But a Milan court has today dismissed his claims that the 20-year-old mum-of-one was in on the crime.
A judge at the Corte d’Assise in Milan also rejected an application by Polish born Herba’s lawyer, Katia Kolakowska, to force Chloe to travel to Italy to be questioned in the court, the reports.
His brother, Michal Herba, is currently fighting extradition from the UK and a British judge has previously said he should fly to Italy to join his sibling to face the allegations.
Lukasz had claimed that they “planned” the kidnapping when they met in Paris and that she did it to become a celebrity.
Chloe says she was offered for sale as a sex slave on the dark web before being released when her captor discovered she has a young child.
Police say Polish-born Herba and his brother Michal, 36, lured Chloe to a fake modelling job before giving her ketamine and bundling her into a car.
Lukasz was arrested after delivering Ms Ayling to the British Consulate in Milan on July 17 – six days after she was allegedly kidnapped.
Michal was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Italian authorities in August.
Herba maintains his innocence.
Yesterday Herba’s lawyer said Ayling was in on the plot in a bid to catapult her into stardom.
She : “He says the kidnap was a fabrication. They planned it together so she would become famous.”
Ms Kolakowska added that the pair had previously met in Paris to discuss the plot, saying: “There is evidence the two had an existing relationship.”
Police say Polish-born Herba and his brother Michal, 36, lured Chloe to a fake modelling job before giving her ketamine and bundling her into a car.
Lukasz was arrested after delivering Ms Ayling to the British Embassy on July 17 – six days after she was allegedly kidnapped.
Michal was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) on a European Arrest Warrant issued by the Italian authorities in August.
Doubts have been cast over Chloe’s account of the kidnapping after it was revealed she went for breakfast and shoe shopping with Lukasz before her release.
Chloe, from Coulsdon, South London, has previously denied any involvement in a kidnap or publicity plot.
She revealed in September she is writing a book about the alleged kidnap.
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