British detectives have reportedly been handed crucial new files on Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner.
According to The Mirror, a raft of evidence on the 49-year-old convict is said to be contained in a German dossier. Brueckner was released from prison last autumn after serving a seven-year sentence for the 2005 rape of an elderly American woman in Portugal.
He was linked to the Madeleine McCann case back in 2020, with police stating that they believe him to be behind Maddie’s abduction and murder.
© HandoutThe convict lived in Portugal from 1995 to 2007. He has been charged with several sex crimes including exposing himself to a child and three counts of rape between 2000 and 2017.
According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, police are hoping to amass evidence that is "strong enough" to extradite Brueckner, who is a German citizen, to the UK. However, there are legal barriers to the move, as Germany doesn't allow its citizens to be extradited to non-EU countries.
A spokesperson told the publication: "The Met's investigation into the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has been active since 2011. A dedicated team continues to examine the events of the evening of 3 May 2007 in Praia da Luz, while supporting and updating Madeleine's family.
"As part of ongoing enquiries, we remain in close working discussion with policing colleagues in Germany and Portugal. We will continue to pursue any viable lines of enquiry."
Extradition
Last year, the chief of the Metropolitan Police, Sir Mark Rowley, confirmed that his force was looking into a possible extradition, saying: "One of the reasons we are involved is that murder is in many situations extraterritorial and potentially a murder of a British subject can in certain circumstances be charged in the UK.
© Photo: Getty Images"There's lots of maybes, so at the moment we are taking stock with the Germans and Portuguese."
An extradition process can only begin if the UK police can satisfy the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) that they are in a position to charge a suspect. Once that has been satisfied, authorities can then apply to the home country of the suspect to detain them before beginning the process.
Christian Brueckner has denied any involvement in Madeleine McCann's disappearance.
© Photo: Getty Images'Concreate evidence'
Brueckner’s camper van was reportedly spotted near the area of Madeleine’s disappearance in 2007, and in 2017, he reportedly told a friend that he knew all about what had happened to her. German authorities made him the official prime suspect in 2022.
Although German authorities claimed that they had "concrete evidence" that Brueckner had murdered Madeleine, he has never been charged in the case.
After Brueckner's release from prison in 2025, he is required to wear an electronic tag and was forced to surrender his passport.
