The former agent of kidnapped model Chloe Ayling has spoken out about her 'horror' abduction ,and how she was hounded by people who did not believe her shocking story.
The former Page 3 star was working for Phil Green's 'Supermodel Agency' back in 2017 when what was supposed to be a routine booking turned sinister, resulting in the then-20-year-old being drugged, bundled into a suitcase and held captive.
She was lured to Milan, Italy, under the pretence of a 'motorbike shoot' - but upon her arrival, she was injected with ketamine and kidnapped, while her agent began to receive emails demanding ransom money.
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Green, 57, has now revealed how he believes her captors - who dubbed themselves the 'Black Death Group' while demanding £270,000 - had tried to snatch the blonde previously, before their plot was foiled.
Ayling's ordeal has since been dramatised by the BBC in the series Kidnapped: The Chloe Ayling Story, which delves into her terrifying experience, as well as the subsequent media storm which followed her upon her safe return.
Take a look at the trailer here:
Brit actor Adrian Edmondson, 67, starred as Green in the chilling drama, which revisits the model's abduction seven years ago and the desperate efforts to save her.
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Now, Green has spoken out about how he was first approached by a photographer who claimed he was called Andre Lazio in March 2017, before they managed to successfully snatch his client four months later.
He explained the man who contacted him had 'specifically asked for Chloe' to attend a shoot in Paris, France, according to the Mirror, but everything seemed to be above board when he conducted 'all the necessary checks' into him.
The agent and lawyer said: "I carried out due diligence, asked questions about the job, checked his website, asked where and when shoot would take place, got the address of the studio and checked examples of previous work.
"But there's no way you could predict something like this. All the boxes were ticked."
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Green said he looked up the bloke's supposed studio, called 'Bellissmafique', online, and that Ayling was 'more than happy to take the job', so the photographer paid £900 up front for the shoot.
But when she touched down in the city of love for the gig, the plan went south.
"I turned on TV and saw there had been a terror attack in Paris, a policeman had been killed," Green recalled. "I was horrified, I called Chloe straight away. She said she could hear sirens outside and I told her to stay in the hotel."
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The snapper, who had set up the motorbike shoot for the following day, then got in touch to say his studio had been ransacked, and it was off, before later showing up at Ayling's hotel to give her £90 for her expenses.
That was that - but in early July, 2017, 'Lazio' contacted Green again to reschedule the modelling job - going as far as to discuss the Brit's measurements 'so that he could get leathers in' for her.
"We discussed all the details again and he paid up," Ayling's former agent continued.
"He sent pictures of his new studio with the same 'Bellissmafique' sign."
Take two
She touched down in Milan on 10 July, checking into the Hotel Galles and heading out to dinner ahead of the photoshoot which was due to take place the following morning at 8.30am.
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Green explained how on the evening of 11 July, he received a panicked phone call from Ayling's mother, who was 'worried Chloe hadn't been in touch' - so he tried to contact 'Lazio', but received no response.
"I checked with the airline and she hadn't boarded the flight," he said. "Chloe had a photoshoot in Ibiza on July 13 and I thought she might have gone straight there. I tried to call her but her phone rang through with foreign ringtone."
Ayling's then-agent claims he then told her mother to contact the police on 12 July, before he received a chilling email from the 'Black Death Group' explaining they had abducted the model.
"Unless you pay money to us by Sunday she will be put to auction where she may get sold to the Russian mafia," it read.
Green said he was 'frozen to the spot' and in 'total shock' after receiving the correspondence, but promptly contacted authorities in Italy and the British consulate in Milan to raise the alarm.
The Met Police had also started investigating after Ayling's mother got in touch and a co-ordinated operation ensued, with the force in East Midlands then arriving at Green's house to take over communication with the kidnappers.
"They were using my email to contact them, the police were in the house syphoning the emails and responding to their demands," Green explained."It was a slow process, there could be hours and hours between messages from Italy.
"They controlled everything, they did give me updates, but they kept the full details to themselves. There were very senior officers in my house 24/7 for the best part of a week, they are specially trained in negotiating.
"They were very calm, very professional."
An email including images of Ayling stuffed inside a suitcase was then sent, with the abductors demanding a ransom of £270,000 for her freedom - but the police could only offer £20,000.
Detailing the 'dreadful' wait for news he faced, Green said: "I didn't know what I could do to help. It went on for days, but then on the Sunday they confirmed they were standing down as there had been developments in Italy. They told me Chloe was safe and well. They didn't give me all the terrible details, but it was such a relief."
'She made some bad decisions'
Ayling stayed in Italy to fill the police in on her ordeal, while Green later booked her a flight back to the UK - but when she arrived home, the agent says she took a step back from him and signed with a London publicity agent.
Revealing what he thought of her next moves, the lawyer said: "It was disappointing when that happened after all I'd done for her during her modelling career, but what can you do?
"But the way she behaved after being released, it looked like she loved all the attention. All the press and TV interviews, going on Celebrity Big Brother.
"In my view, she made some bad decisions - people thought she was just in it for the money."
However, he is adamant that the kidnapping saga was not staged, and can't believe some people think it was.
"Chloe has said she hopes the show will stop people from questioning her," Green went on.
"Chloe has been accused of faking the abduction, using it as a publicity stunt," he said. "I don't think that will ever change, online conspiracy theories never die.
"I was there during the time when it happened and it was terrifying for me, it beggars belief that it was stage managed."
Ultimately, Lukasz Herba and his brother Michal Herba were arrested and put on trial for the crime.
Lukasz was sentenced to 16 years and nine months in prison - later reduced to 12 years and one month - while his sibling was given 16 years and eight months for holding the model captive in a farmhouse in Turin for six days.
Herba's sentence was also reduced on appeal to five years and eight months.
Discussing what he believes their motivations were, Green explained he reckons social media had a big part to play.
He added: "Models put everything up there. I have no doubt that the attacker was a follower on Instagram. They saw how many followers she had and in their minds thought they could attract a higher ransom.
"I think it is a little bit dangerous, you don't know who is watching you, checking up on you."
Topics: Crime, True Crime, UK News, BBC, World News
Olivia Burke