A former cop fears Madeleine McCann may have been abducted on the orders of a notorious paedophile network once tied to Belgian child-killer Marc Dutroux, it has been claimed
A former police officer has raised fears that Madeleine McCann may have been snatched on the instructions of an infamous paedophile ring once linked to Belgian child-killer Marc Dutroux, it has been claimed. The chilling warning comes from Marc Verwilghen, Belgium’s ex-justice minister, who supervised the Dutroux investigation.
He claims alarming intelligence shared between European police forces in the days leading up to Madeleine’s disappearance in May 2007 suggested a trafficking gang was hunting for a young child. Madeleine was three years old when she vanished from a holiday flat in Praia da Luz, Portugal, during a family break in 2007.
Just 72 hours before her disappearance, Belgian authorities had issued warnings that a paedophile network had “placed an order” for a little girl.
Speaking to The Sun, Verwilghen revealed: “As soon as I heard about the case I had déjà vu – because it reminded me straight away of Dutroux. When you look at the case it is of course possible Madeleine was stolen to order. The alert […] should have been taken seriously.”
Dutroux, imprisoned for life in 2004, kidnapped, sexually assaulted and killed girls during the 1990s and was long believed to have connections to broader trafficking operations. Verwilghen highlighted numerous “similarities” between his offences and Madeleine’s vanishing, stating: “The abduction of children took organisation and planning and more than one person to make this work. Intelligence suggests a paedophile ring in Belgium made an order for a young girl three days before Madeleine McCann was taken.”, reports the Mirror.
Allegations that Maddie was abducted to order emerge as prime suspect Christian Brueckner faces imminent release.
Brueckner was residing in the Algarve when she disappeared and is set to walk free by Wednesday following completion of his sentence for raping a 72-year-old woman.
German authorities have consistently maintained that Madeleine was unlikely to have been taken by a single perpetrator. However, despite intelligence suggesting organised criminal networks, their probe remains firmly concentrated on Brueckner.
A source close to the case revealed: “Police take seriously the claims that emerged from Belgium […] They believe there is no way whoever took her could have been acting alone. But there is no interest in the network, that creates too many new agencies and they want to keep their focus on the current suspect.”
Brueckner’s impending release without surveillance measures has sparked concerns he might vanish and evade interrogation. British officers leading Operation Grange confirmed they had sought an interview with him, which he declined.
Det Chief Insp Mark Cranwell stated this week: “We have requested an interview with this German suspect but, for legal reasons, this can only be done via an International Letter of Request which has been submitted. It was subsequently refused by the suspect. In the absence of an interview, we will nevertheless continue to pursue any viable lines of inquiry.
“We can provide no further information while the investigation is ongoing.”
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