On her way to an apparent photoshoot in Milan, British model Chloe Ayling was attacked by two men who drugged and transported her in a bag to Borgial, a small town near Turin, Italy.

The aim? To allegedly auction off the 20-year-old online.

In a statement to police published by the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, The Guardian reports Ayling said:

“A person wearing black gloves came up from behind and put one hand on my neck and the other on my mouth, while a second person, wearing a black balaclava, injected me in my right arm.

“I think I lost consciousness. When I woke up I was wearing a pink bodysuit and the socks I’m in now. I realised I was in the boot of a car, with my wrists and ankles tied and my mouth taped. I was inside a bag, with only a small hole that allowed me to breathe.”

Ayling said that she screamed so much her captors were forced to stop the car three times while transporting her. She said her feet and hands were tied to a chest of drawers when in the house. “I was forced to sleep on the floor in a sleeping bag,” she said.

Allegedly abducted on July 11, Ayling was to be auctioned online for more that £230 000 (R4 million), but authorities reportedly said she was released six days later when the abductors “found out she had a two-year-old child as their rules forbade kidnapping mothers”:

Mail Online published a letter purportedly sent to Ayling upon her release by a group called Black Death, which said she was being freed because of “huge generosity”.

It made clear that there should be no investigation into what happened, that she should not speak ill of her kidnappers and that she should pay $50,0000 in BitCoins within a month. The letter said failure to comply would “result in your elimination”.

Here’s another letter, as published by The Daily Mail:

A Polish man who lives in Britain was arrested on 18 July on suspicion of kidnapping and extortion, state police said:

Officials released a mugshot of the suspect, named as 30-year-old Lukasz Pawel Herba. Police are searching for accomplices, of whom there are believed to be three or four.

Ayling’s lawyer, Francesco Pesce, said:

“I hope they find them soon as this could be very dangerous for other girls. This was a massive investigation that was carried out quickly; the police have worked very hard. The only mystery now is why this person [one of the suspects] went to the consulate with her.

“She suffered a lot. It was an awful experience … and to believe that she would never see her family again. I was so encouraged to see how strong she was [when she revisited the house], a 20-year-old who had been through a terrible ordeal.”

“Now she is home and it’s important that she has time with her family and is left alone.”

Italian police are working with British and Polish officials in their investigation.

How flipping scary is that?

[source:theguardian]