Stuttgart, Germany  - A German arrest warrant has been issued against a man suspected of attempting to blackmail former international supermodel Cindy Crawford, prosecutors in Stuttgart said on Tuesday.

Police in Nuertigen, near Stuttgart, said they had questioned a man named by US authorities as Edis Kayalar, 26, in connection with the attempted blackmail. He had not denied the attempt.

The suspect is thought to have repeatedly contacted the Crawford family and threatened to publish pictures of their then-7-year-old daughter in a bound and gagged pose, in what the family said was a "cops and robbers" game with a nanny.

If the suspect, who is thought to have demanded 100,000 dollars (67,000 euros) not to send the pictures to tabloid newspapers, is prosecuted he could face a fine or a jail term.

A spokeswoman for the Stuttgart prosecutor said that the suspect had arrived from Turkey on Sunday, where he had apparently feared arrest and extradition to the US.

Kayalar was taken into custody in the US several months ago for an immigration violation and deported to Germany. (dpa)