A woman who was kidnapped and told she was being put up for sale on the dark web says people didn’t believe her because she wasn’t ‘in tears’ following the ordeal.
British model, Chloe Ayling, had travelled to Milan, Italy, for what she thought was just another modelling job back in July 2017. However, once there she was injected with ketamine, handcuffed and placed into a holdall by two men who claimed to be from a terror organisation called, The Black Death Group.
The two men told Ayling they would sell her as a sex slave on the dark web if they were not paid €300,000 ($324,500).
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The pair held her captive in a farmhouse in Turin for six days - but Ayling managed to convince her kidnappers to let her go after explaining that she had a young son.
Ayling and kidnapper, Lukasz Herba, turned up together at the Milan consulate, where she told officials she had been kidnapped but claimed Herba was a friend.
However, the truth later came out and, following a trial, Herba was sentenced 16 years and nine months in prison, while his brother, Michał Herba, was given 16 years and eight months in prison.
Both men have since had their sentences reduced following an appeal - with Lukasz handed a sentence of 12 years and one month and Michał being given five years and eight months.
In the wake of the horrific incident, Ayling came under intense scrutiny by the media and general public, with some suggesting the story was fake.
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In an interview with the Guardian back in 2018, Ayling said she thinks some people refused to believe what happened because she appeared to be happy.
She said: “I don’t think people believed me because I wasn’t in tears. But I was happy, as you would be, seeing your family after a month when you thought you weren’t going to again.
“Also, because cameras are an everyday part of my life, I probably reacted differently from how most people would if they had been through the same thing.”
She also said snobbery was an issue with people thinking she was a ‘stereotypical’ glamour model who just wanted fame.
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“I think if you’re a glamour model, you’re bound to be portrayed in that way,” she said.
“It’s just the stereotype, I guess. That we just want fame and publicity.”
The shocking story is being turned into a factual drama by BBC later this year and has been made with Ayling’s cooperation.
Commenting on the news when the series was announced last month, she said: "I am excited that BBC Studios are telling my story and that the wider world will get to know the truth about what happened to me and learn of the many details that weren’t brought to light originally.
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"Georgia Lester and the team have been incredibly supportive in our conversations, and I couldn’t be happier that they are making this series."
Topics: Crime, UK News, Film and TV, BBC