14 March 2024 , 11:10
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Armed police in Germany raided a heavily fortified home as they searched for an alleged “partner in crime” of Maddie McCann suspect Christian Brueckner.
Officers holding machine guns were seen outside the house in Braunschweig, one of the oldest cities in the European nation. They were searching for an associate of Brueckner - currently on trial for five rapes unrelated to the McCann case - known as Ralph H. After standing outside the house for an hour they then left, as they did not have a search warrant.
The 56-year-old is a known friend and accomplice of the paedophile, whom he lived next door to. According to the Sun, he recently said: “I acted as a lookout for him during burglaries and as a getaway driver as well. I know exactly the sort of crimes he got up to and what he did on the dark web.”
A detective with Bundeskriminalamt (BKA) - the German version of the FBI - said they were “urgently” searching for Ralph H to ask him about Madeleine McCann. It comes as Brueckner is standing trial over five sexual offences he is alleged to have committed in Portugal between 2000 and 2017. Although unrelated to McCann’s disappearance, his lawyer started the trial in Braunschweig, Germany by addressing the alleged links to the British girl.
In the defence opening statement, Friedrich Fulscher said Brueckner had been persecuted by the media since being named prime suspect in the Madeleine McCann case. He said his client is not guilty of the charges he faces. A court heard this month Brueckner had boasted to a friend about carrying out burglaries in hotels on Portugal's Algarve coast. The defendant is accused of five sex offences, said to have happened between 2000 and 2017 in the country.
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Earlier this week Brueckner’s mother Brigitte blasted her son and says her life was "destroyed all over again" when he was named as the prime Madeleine suspect in 2022. Speaking publicly about her son for the first time since 2020, Ms Brueckner said: "I don’t have anything to do with him anymore. As far as I’m concerned I have said goodbye. Auf Wiedersehen."