https://www.ad.nl/buitenland/politie-volgde-bus-met-duitse-maddie-verdachte-maar-die-bleek-spoorloos-in-amsterdam~aa77f1b3/Google translation from Dutch press
drug trafficking. © AP
'Police followed bus with German Maddie suspect, but it turned out to be missing in Amsterdam'
The 43-year-old German suspected of murdering British Maddie McCann was observed by police in 2018. German detectives even followed Christian Brückner when he traveled to the Netherlands by bus. At the border, they informed their Dutch colleagues about the arrival of the sex offender, who was considered dangerous, but things went wrong after that. German media report this.
Caspar Naber 08-06-20, 23:00 Last update: 23:35
Upon arrival in Amsterdam, the German had suddenly disappeared, according to Braunschweiger Zeitung and Bild . It is not known how he managed this and where he went afterwards. Brückner apparently traveled unnoticed to Italy, where he applied for a new passport at the German consulate in Milan. He was arrested on 27 September 2018 when the ID was collected. This on the basis of a European arrest warrant that had already been issued by the Public Prosecution Service in Flensburg.
That arrest warrant came about because Brückner did not comply with the conditions of his probation. It entered into effect on August 31, 2018 after his release from prison. He had been detained there for a year and three months for child abuse and possession of child pornography. Instead of reporting to his probation officer at least once a month, the German left for Italy via the Netherlands. In addition, he still had a 2011 and nine months' imprisonment for drug trafficking.
Because the German police already suspected in 2018 that he might have something to do with the disappearance of Maddie McCann and were considered "very dangerous", the Braunschweig detective arranged for him to be monitored 24 hours a day. This was done by local police officers and colleagues from the federal police.
Games
Brückner would soon have noticed that he was being watched. “He started playing games with us. For example, got on a tram and got off again shortly afterwards, '' the regional newspaper quoted one of the members of the observation team at the time. The detectives soon had enough of his games and told the suspect: "You will not lose us anyway."
The multiple convicted sex offender is said to have reacted angrily but eventually resigned himself to the situation. The investigators even made arrangements with Brückner. "I said to him: we can make things easier for ourselves. Let us know where you want to go. For example, we brought it to the health insurer or to the city center. ''
Christian Brückner stayed in Portugal from 1995 to 2007. His cell phone, according to police, was probed near Praia da Luz on the night of Madeleine McCann's disappearance. She disappeared on May 3, 2007 from the holiday home rented by her parents. This while Gerry and Kate McCann were having dinner in a restaurant with friends. Brückner called a Portuguese number just over an hour before the disappearance and had a conversation of about half an hour.
Accomplice
Earlier today, it was announced that the Portuguese police are a former employee on the trail of the holiday resort where the McCann family stayed in 2007. The man is suspected of complicity in the case. The detective suspects that he worked with Brückner, with whom he had several contacts at the time. He may have tipped the German off about a suitable time to enter the McCanns' apartment. The former employee of the complex has also been linked in the past to sex crimes with minors in the Algarve.--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Another person not thoroughly investigated by PJ at the time??