31st January 2014
Daily Mirror
Madeleine McCann cops want to raid homes of three prime suspects who were working at holiday complex British officers believe the men would have known the layout of the Ocean Club at Praia da Luz and been aware of the best escape routes for anyone taking a child.Police hunting for missing Madeleine McCann want to raid the homes of three prime suspects and examine their bank accounts in the hunt for clues into her disappearance.
British officers plan to quiz the trio , who were working at the holiday complex in Portugal where the three-year-old was snatched from her bed.
They hope to look at their bank records to see if any large sums of money were placed in their accounts – which could indicate payment for a crime.
The three men would have known the layout of the Ocean Club complex at Praia da Luz and been aware of the best escape routes for anyone taking a child.
It would also have been possible for them to watch the movements of Madeleine’s parents Kate and Gerry’s on the night their daughter went missing in May 2007 as they ate tapas with friends near their apartment.
Detectives believe the suspects were behind a string of burglaries in the area in the weeks before the youngster vanished.
One of the flats burgled at the Ocean Club is owned by a former British expat. It is in the same block as the one the McCanns rented.
The man, who is in his 50s and wishes to remain anonymous, said yesterday: “They’d taken two mobile phones, a camera and some cash. There was no sign of forced entry.
"I was convinced they had a key to get inside. I spoke to my neighbours, many of them expats, and I’d say around 90% of them had experienced the same thing… valuable items going missing out of their apartments.
“I brought these complaints to the attention of the Ocean Club but they were pretty much ignored. Nothing was done.
“This was about four weeks before Maddie went missing.”
The expat was interviewed 18 months ago by Scotland Yard detectives – meaning officers have long suspected burglars could be responsible for Madeleine’s kidnap.
One theory is that burglars raided the McCanns’ apartment and were panicked into snatching her when she woke up.
Nelson Rodrigues, who worked as a barman at the Ocean Club at the time the child, from Rothley, Leics, vanished, said it was “possible” former workers had something to do with the kidnap.
But he added: “In my opinion, it’s not likely.
“I don’t know what happened to her that night, but I would be very surprised if any of the workers had anything to do with it.
“There were quite a few staff who had access to keys.
"Reception staff, the cleaners, and the maintenance men could all get into rooms. Waiters and barmen did not have access to keys.
“I remember at the time things belonging to guests went missing now and then.
"Mobile phones, cash, anything valuable lying around.”
Reports in local media said the Ocean Club had around 130 Portuguese employees and 30 British staff when Madeleine went missing.
Nelson also told how he joined the frantic hunt for Madeleine when her parents raised the alarm.
He added: “I looked everywhere for her. Around the pool, inside apartments, in the streets.
"I kept looking until five in the morning, when my boss said, ‘OK, it’s time for you to go home’.
“I saw Kate. She looked very upset. I heard her say, ‘I need a priest’.”
Scotland Yard officers flew to Faro in Portugal this week to meet with local police where they discussed the probe into the three ex-staff who are now suspects.
British police first became suspicious of the staff after analysing mobile phone data.
They discovered a high number of calls made by the three men in the hours leading up to Madeleine’s disappearance.
Operation Grange, set up to reopen the case, has sent a second International Letter of Request to their Portuguese counterparts which addresses developments in the probe
It deals with issues surrounding formal questioning of the men as well as searching their homes and looking into their bank accounts.
The letter is now being dealt with by a court in the Algarve resort of Portimao. The Policia Judiciaria, the Portuguese force investigating Madeleine's disappearance, and the Attorney General refused to comment on the content of Tuesday’s meeting with Scotland Yard.
A Policia Judiciaria spokesman said last night: “The PJ confirms a meeting has taken place in Faro between British and Portuguese authorities within the framework of the execution of an International Letter of Request.”
And the force’s director Almeida Rodrigues added: “We cannot say anything else because when we co-operate with our British colleagues we are bound by professional secrecy.”
The Scotland Yard team have now flown back to London.
Last October, details emerged of a former worker who had been made a suspect by Portuguese police.
Euclides Monteiro, 40, a waiter who had a conviction for theft, was asked to leave his job after being caught stealing tips.
The immigrant from Cape Verde, died in a tractor accident in 2009.
His family claim Portuguese police are using him as a scapegoat for Madeleine’s disappearance.
Montiero’s close friend Sergio Paulo, 44, said: “Toni was a good guy but had some serious drug problems.
"He became a slave to heroin.”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/madeleine-mccann-suspects-cops-want-3095609
