Rome: A Polish man has been arrested in the Italian city of Milan over the alleged kidnapping of a British model who was held captive for six days.
The police say the man, Lukasz Pawel Herba, 30, a Polish citizen who lives in the UK, was charged with kidnapping for extortion purposes.
Milan daily newspaper Corriere della Sera reports the 20-year-old model who has not been named was lured to a fake photo shoot on July 11.
Based on court documents, the newspaper says she was then drugged, handcuffed and put into a suitcase.
Corriere della Sera reports the alleged captor told the woman she could be freed upon payment of 50,000 euros (about $A74,245).
The report says investigators also are exploring the possibility the woman was abducted so she could be auctioned off online.
The paper says she was released on July 17 because her alleged abductor discovered she had a young child and considered her unsuitable for sex trafficking.
The London Telegraph reported the model was held captive while her kidnappers sought to "auction" her via the internet.
Police said the model was sent by her agent in the UK to Milan for a photo shoot on July 10 and kidnapped by a man who posed as a photographer the following day.
When the model arrived at the fake studio near the city's central railway station a day later, she was anaesthetised with the drug ketamine which was injected into her arm before she was undressed and photographed.
AAP