The lead suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann worked at the same Algarve resort the British toddler vanished from in 2007, it has been claimed.
Christian Brueckner, 47, a convicted sex offender, worked at Ocean Club tapas bar at the popular holiday destination.
British expat Ken Ralphs, 59, who knew Brueckner after relocatig to Portugal in 2004, claimed the German national was working cash-in-hand.
He also alleged Brueckner plotted with another man to abduct a young girl.
Christian Brueckner is alleged to have worked at a popular tapas bar in Portugal
REUTERS
The 47-year-old hoped to sell her to a couple unable to conceive a child, The Daily Mail has reported.
Ralphs claimed he went to police in Portugal and Britain immediately after the toddler’s disappearance.
However, Ralphs the 59-year-old claimed he has since received conflicting accounts from police in both countries over whether the information he provided was passed on or investigated.
Brueckner was eventually named as an official suspect in 2020.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
Madeleine McCann disappeared during a family holiday in 2007PADespite a number of other convictions and a string of sex charges, Brueckner is yet to be charged in connection with the McCann case.
Ralphs first caught wind of Brueckner’s alleged involvement through fellow expat John.
He told The Daily Mail: “[John] told me Christian was planning to take a child from Praia da Luz.
“He then clarified it was not ransom, but that it was to take a child to sell to a German couple who could not have children of their own.
Christian Brueckner has been a prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case since 2022GETTY“He assured me the child would not be harmed.”
Ralphs added that John “told me Christian knew many people who will pay good money for a child who cannot give birth, and that the child would be taken from a rich family with more than one child [of their own] so the parents would not grieve as badly”.
He also claimed Brueckner “worked at the [Ocean Club] restaurant, and that he had been planning events for months”, alleging: “He said Christian knows the place inside out and was very clever and he knows what he is doing.”
Land near a Portuguese home which Brueckner previously resided in was searched last year in connection with enquiries concerning McCann’s disappearance.
The search proved inconclusive and the German national continues to deny any involvement in her disappearance.