Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner says he could NOT have snatched the three-year-old

The main suspect in the disappearance of Madeleine McCann has claimed he could not have been involved as he was a drug dealer who always avoided attracting police attention, according to a new TV documentary.

Convicted rapist Christian Brueckner said his illegal activities on the Algarve in Portugal meant he would not have been out and about when the three-year-old went missing from her holiday villa in May 2007.

And as well as protesting his innocence the 44-year-old used the film to taunt German prosecutors by saying he was happy to ‘sit back and relax and just wait for their findings.’

Brueckner was named as the prime suspect in the McCann disappearance in 2020.

German prosecutors remain convinced he was responsible for the youngster’s disappearance but despite an intensive investigation have not brought any charges.

Brueckner was named as the prime suspect in the McCann (pictured) disappearance in 2020

Brueckner spoke about his drug dealing with a reporter for the German TV station SAT.1 as part of their detailed investigation into the case. The hour long film is called ‘New clues in the case of missing Madeleine McCann.’

From his prison cell he exchanged a series of letters with investigative reporter Jutta Rabe and admitted to being a drug dealer. He said he used a battered camper van to transport the drugs.

In one letter, to be shown in the TV documentary, Brueckner writes:’ I was never caught by the police because I followed a few key principles.

‘Where possible, only driving during the day so that my battered ‘hippy bus’ didn’t attract attention, only driving on the roads I needed to and, most importantly never provoking the police.

‘So that means not committing any crimes, certainly not abducting anyone.’

Brueckner spoke about his drug dealing with a reporter for the German TV station SAT.1 as part of their detailed investigation into the case. The hour long film is called ‘New clues in the case of missing Madeleine McCann.’ Pictured: The villa she disappeared from

Brueckner, who is serving a seven-year sentence for raping a 73-year-old American woman at her home on the Algarve, added that he found the idea he abducted McCann as ‘absurd to me as starting a nuclear war or slaughtering a chicken’

The TV documentary, which is being broadcast on Monday night, also claims Brueckner was very familiar with the Ocean Club holiday complex in Praia da Luz resort where the McCann family were staying having carried out maintenance at the site.

Mobile phone analysis by the TV station also claims to have established Brueckner was no more than five minutes away when Madeleine was snatched from her bedroom on May 3rd 2007

The documentary team also spoke with a former online chat partner of Brueckner where he is claimed to have revealed his paedophile fantasies.

In one exchange he is reported to have said he wanted to ‘capture something small and use it for days.’

The TV documentary also includes a reconstruction of the evening of the toddler’s disappearance and its findings have been sent to public prosecutor Christian Wolters who has spearheaded the case against him.

Wolters said of the investigation:’ If this produces any ideas, we will of course follow them up.’

Brueckner is currently being held in a high security prison in Oldenburg, near Bremen in northern Germany.

While repeatedly denying any involvement in the 2007 crime he was known to have been living near the holiday resort when Madeleine disappeared.

German prosecutor Wolters said last year they were 100% sure that Brueckner was responsible but admitted all the evidence so far compiled was circumstantial

He said: ‘It is circumstantial evidence – we have no scientific evidence..

‘If we had a video of the act or a picture of Madeleine dead with Brueckner on camera, we wouldn’t have had to make a public appeal. But we only have circumstantial evidence.’

But he also admitted prosecutors have no proof Madeleine is dead, any idea how she died and no evidence linking Brueckner to her alleged murder.

‘We have no body and no DNA but we have other evidence. Based on the evidence we have, it leads to no other conclusion.

‘I can’t tell you on which basis we assume she is dead. But for us, there’s no other possibility. There is no hope she is alive.’