Police quiz man in hunt for ‘trophy rapist’

A 48-YEAR-OLD man was last night being questioned by police hunting a serial rapist who has been terrorising the south east of England.

The man, understood to be Antoni Imiela from Appledore, near Ashford in Kent, was arrested at 11.30pm on Monday on the M20. Detective Superintendent Mark Warwick, of Thames Valley Police, who is acting head of Operation Orb, described the arrest as a “significant development” but stressed it was part of an on-going inquiry.

Operation Orb was set up to track down the so-called “trophy rapist”, who has often taken an item of clothing from his victims.

Police are investigating nine rapes and one attempted rape over the past year on young girls and women aged from 10 to 52 in London, Kent, Berkshire, Surrey and Hertfordshire.

It has become the biggest manhunt of its kind since the hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper.

At 11.30pm on Monday night, police cars surrounded a vehicle and brought it to a stop on the coast-bound carriageway of the M20 at junction 5 near Maidstone, said a Kent Police spokesman.

The arrested man was taken to a Kent police station where officers from Kent and Surrey forces were due to start questioning him this afternoon, he said.

Meanwhile in the village of Appledore, crime scene investigators were “taking apart” his semi-detached house on a quiet estate.

Mr Imiela is believed to be of German origin and married but may have lived in the north of England before moving to Kent. Police had until around 11.30pm last night to question him before they would have to seek permission from a superintendent to keep him in custody for another 12 hours.