According to a criminal complaint, Gilberto Valle, an active New York Police Department officer, discussed “kidnapping, cooking and eating body parts of women” with an unnamed witness.

The duo allegedly discussed using chloroform to knock their prey out, then bring them back to 28-year-old Valle's kitchen, where, the officer said he had a big enough oven, “if I folded their legs”.

Slow cooking her on a spit over an open fire or roasting her alive in a cage was also considered.

Valle, who was reportedly stationed in Harlem, was arrested on yesterday at his home in the New York borough of Queens. The co-conspirator, who has not been identified, was not charged. No women were harmed.

FBI acting assistant director Mary Galligan said the stomach-churning allegations were beyond comment.

“The allegations in the complaint really need no description from us. They speak for themselves,” she said. “It would be an understatement merely to say Valle's own words and actions were shocking.”

The FBI learned about Valle's plan in September when it found that he'd spent months discussing details on emails and instant messages from his home computer, according to the complaint.

A search of his computer allegedly revealed files kept on at least 100 women, each with a name and photograph and often personal details such as address and descriptions.

Valle is said to have illegally used law enforcement databases to draw up a target list of women.