Madeleine McCann stolen to order by infamous paedo network linked to notorious child killer, claims Belgian official

A NOTORIOUS network of paedophiles linked to a serial child-killer ordered the kidnap of Madeleine McCann, it is feared.

A former top Belgian official, who led the inquiry into the murderer and child-molester Marc Dutroux, says a gang of traffickers could be connected to her disappearance.

11

11

11

Cops investigating prime suspect and paedophile Christian Brueckner — set for release from jail tomorrow — are taking the claims seriously.

Madeleine was three when she vanished while on holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007.

Three days earlier Belgian cops had issued an alert to European police forces over intelligence that a paedophile gang had ordered a small child to be snatched.

Marc Verwilghen, who served as Belgium’s justice minister for three years, told The Sun yesterday: “I have never had access to the Madeleine McCann files.

“All I can say is as soon as I heard about the case I had deja 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 that was sent looks like it must have come from Belgium police and it should have been taken seriously.

“Dutroux investigators uncovered reports of possible paedophile rings operating in Belgium at that time but couldn’t finish their enquiry as this was focused on Dutroux, handling him as a lone actor.”

Dutroux, 68, abducted, raped and murdered girls in Belgium in the 1990s.

He was arrested in 1996 and jailed for life in 2004 and is thought to have links to European networks of child-sex traffickers.

Admitting many “similarities” between the cases, Mr Verwilghen added: “It was clear paedophile networks and child- trafficking really did exist in Europe — we know this since Dutroux but the enquiry committee was never allowed to look into them properly.

“It was clear that these existed to make money.

“These could be informal networks, one person dealing with another, but they existed.

“The Dutroux case showed us 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. Somebody connected to this group saw Maddie, took a photograph of her and sent it to Belgium. The purchaser agreed that the girl was suitable and Maddie was taken.”

The Belgian police warning first emerged in 2008 when a fax was released as part of a bundle of files surrounding the McCann case.

In 2016 British cops probing her disappearance started looking into a gang of European traffickers but the theory has never been publicly linked to German Brueckner.

11

11

11

11

Officials investigating the rapist believe Madeleine was likely stolen to order rather than being snatched by a “lone wolf”.

But their probe is focused solely on his alleged role and not on any wider paedophile network.

A source close to the case in Germany said yesterday: “Police take seriously the claims that emerged from Belgium — that ­Maddie was ordered to be stolen.

All I can say is as soon as I heard about the case I had deja vu — because it reminded me straight away of Dutroux

Marc Verwilghen, who served as Belgium’s justice minister for three years

“They believe there is no way whoever took her could have been acting alone — that would have made no sense.

“But there is not interest in the network, that creates too many new agencies and they want to keep their focus on the current suspect.”

Brueckner, 48, was living in the Algarve at the time Madeleine went missing.

He is due to be freed from jail today after serving a sentence for raping a woman aged 72.

But there was confusion around a bid to have him tagged and issued with strict release conditions.

Brueckner’s lawyers have rejected the application, sparking fears he will go into hiding and dodge any questions over Madeleine.

British cops want to question him but he has turned them down.

Detectives working on the Met’s Operation Grange investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance are powerless to force him to submit to questioning.

And there is not enough evidence to persuade a German court to extradite him to the UK, where he could be tried.

Earlier this week Det Chief Insp Mark Cranwell said: “We have requested an interview.

“It was refused by the suspect. We will continue to pursue any viable lines of enquiry.”

The Met Police yesterday declined to comment further on the case.

Sick stories written by Brueckner have revealed his obsession with snatching children using methods with chilling similarities to Dutroux.

The fantasies, uncovered by a Sun investigation, show he dreamt of watching his targets, then drugging them and trapping them in a cellar before making vile abuse films.

Dutroux, suspected of as many as 11 murders, kidnapped young girls, holding them captive in hidden cells.

Belgian authorities have acknowledged that trafficking networks were active in moving children across borders to the Netherlands, Germany and France.

Intelligence files from the mid-2000s warned the paedophile rings were sophisticated and well-connected.

Bruckner’s mobile phone was shown to be in the area of the Ocean Club where the McCanns were staying an hour or so before Madeleine disappeared.

Pal Helge Busching claims that a year later he was discussing the tot’s ­disappearance when Brueckner told him: “She didn’t scream.”

A Sun investigation — aired on Channel 4 earlier this year — revealed the existence of a hard drive and laptop containing images from Portugal, closely linked to the belief held by cops that Madeleine is in fact dead.

11

11

11

11