Chloe Ayling ‘kidnapper’ will be extradited to Italy, judge rules
MICHAL HERBA, 36, should be extradited to Italy to face trial for the alleged kidnapping of British model Chloe Ayling, a judge at Westminster Magistrates' Court has ruled.
Model ‘kidnapper’ will be extradited to Italy, judge rules
Herba's lawyers said they will appeal, having claimed the entire plot was an elaborate publicity stunt.
Miss Ayling, 20, claims she was snatched, drugged and held hostage for six days by a group calling itself Black Death after being lured to a fake modelling shoot in Milan in July.
Miss Ayling, 20, claims she was snatched, drugged and held hostage for six days
At a hearing at Westminster Magistrates Court, District Judge Paul Goldspring said the 36-year-old should be extradited to Italy to join his brother, Lukasz Herba, 30, to face allegations they kidnapped the model before demanding a 300,000 euro (£264,00) ransom.
"I have decided you should be surrendered to Italy to face trial for the kidnap," the judge told Herba.
In court documents, released by the judge, Herba, who moved to the UK permanently in 2011, claims to have driven to Milan from Poland to meet his brother on July 10.
"I also met Chloe Ayling who was free, chilled and relaxed. She seemed to be an attention seeker," he said.
Herba, who works as a driver, said he went back to Poland the following day, returning to England on July 15, only finding out about the kidnapping from reading about it in newspapers.
He added: "The entire thing seems to be a scam. If I did something illegal I would not return to England to continue working and to live openly."