By GB News (World News) | Created at 2026-09-20 15:25:39 | Updated at 2026-09-20 16:07:02
1 hour ago
The prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case has claimed he was a mere 150 yards from where the three-year-old was staying when she disappeared.
The convicted rapist and paedophile said he had been dealing cannabis near the resort in Praia da Luz on May 3 2007 in an extraordinary admission.
"I was on the beach, not far from Maddie's hotel, selling drugs," Brueckner told the Daily Mail. "I'd been in Spain and smuggled the weed into Portugal."
Madeleine's parents Gerry and Kate McCann had left their children in their room while they ate dinner with friends roughly 100 yards away when their child disappeared.
On the night of her disappearance, Brueckner revealed Portuguese police pulled him over three times in Praia da Luz as they hunted for the missing child.
Officers never searched his vehicle on any of the three occasions.
"I was even stopped by police three times on the street [in Praia da Luz] while they were looking for Maddie," he said.
"Luckily, they didn't find the drugs. My van was full of them. I was making a quick getaway; there were flashing blue lights and checkpoints everywhere. I just thought, 'Get me out of here'."
Christian Brueckner is the prime suspect in the case
GETTY
The German national had previously refused to reveal where he was that evening, saying he kept silent "because the police want to frame me for the Maddie thing".
German prosecutors identified Brueckner as the chief suspect in 2020. They claimed they possessed "concrete evidence" - yet not enough to charge him.
A mobile phone registered in his name was tracked near the McCanns' accommodation that evening.
The paedophile holds two rape convictions and has been found guilty of child sexual abuse, theft, drug trafficking and assault.
Madeleine's parents had left their children in a hotel room while they went to dinner
PA
Brueckner left prison in September last year after completing a six-year sentence for raping a 72-year-old American tourist.
He is now said to be penning a memoir he intends to publish in both German and English, telling his friends he could take home a staggering seven-figure sum from the earnings.
Scotland Yard detectives are working to extradite Brueckner to Britain to face trial over Madeleine's abduction and murder.
It is understood a dedicated team remains in close contact with counterparts in Germany and Portugal.
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: "We will continue to pursue any viable lines of inquiry."
Brueckner told the Mail: "I have nothing to do with the little girl's disappearance.
"I would be happy if Maddie turned up tomorrow, then everyone would immediately understand that everything against me is and was staged. But that probably won't happen, so I remain the prime suspect."
A source close to the McCann family told the Mail: "If what he [Brueckner] says is true, it obviously begs the question of what might have been if the Portuguese police had not let him slip through their fingers."
