COPS in Germany are on high alert after Madeleine McCann suspect Christian Brueckner tried to buy an untraceable mobile phone — while carrying an ID card that could allow him to flee his home country.
Brueckner, 49, begged shop staff to sell him an anonymous handset without recording his official government identity, which is a legal condition there.
Fiend Christian Brueckner with a mobile phone in a shop in GermanyDan Charity
The now free Madeleine McCann suspect enters the phone shopDan Charity
Boastful Brueckner hands over the money for his new handset
The Madeleine suspect sets up his smartphone in the shopDan Charity
Dan CharityThe convicted rapist was released from prison last week[/caption]
The convicted rapist was released from prison last week and a store worker instantly became suspicious at his request and refused — firing back to the rapist “I know who you are”.
He was then stunned to see Brueckner’s ID had not been updated with release conditions banning him from travelling outside Germany.
Police there have now been notified about the move and were said to be continuing to monitor the situation.
Worryingly, it also emerged flight-risk Brueckner quit the city his lawyers wanted him to stay in on his release after just one night because there were “too many police around”.
Phone shop manager Farouk Salah-Brahmin, 32, told The Sun he spoke to Brueckner for more than an hour shortly after he stepped off the train into his town.
The dad said: “He came in and said he wanted to buy a pay-as-you-go Sim card and a smartphone.
“He said he wanted to learn how to use WhatsApp because he had never used it before.
“He told me he wanted to be able to stay in touch with his lawyers.
“He produced a promotional pen for his lawyer and told me that was the only way he had to contact his legal team.
“I couldn’t believe it — his only contact in the world was a phone number on an office pen.
“It was then he really weirdly asked me if he could buy a Sim card without an identity card.
“That would mean no one could trace his calls.
“But I said, ‘No way, I know who you are’ because it’s illegal to register a phone without an ID card in Germany because then you have no idea who was using it.
“It was actually really scary that he even asked — he probably thought it would have been amazing for him to have an unregistered phone.”
One of the key pieces of evidence on Brueckner is a mobile phone record showing he was in the centre of Praia da Luz at the time of Madeleine’s disappearance there on May 4, 2007.
In Germany, ID cards can be printed with specific stipulations such as limits on travel.
He really weirdly asked me if he could buy a Sim card without an identity card. That would mean no one could trace his calls
Farouk Salah-Brahmin
Brueckner’s identification, however, carries none of the limitations agreed to by a court — despite prosecutors insisting that it should.
Stunned Farouk added: “When he gave me his identity card, I was completely shocked because there were no travel limitations on it.
“I thought that was really strange because his release conditions were supposed to be limiting his travel abroad — but there was nothing there.
“It means right now he can get on a plane or go wherever he wants because he can use his ID card like any other person.
“There were no police or officials or anyone following him.
“There was nothing to stop him at all. I couldn’t believe it.”
CollectMadeleine McCann was three when she vanished while on holiday in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007[/caption]
Maddie’s parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, have been searching for answers over her disappearance since 2007
The apartment complex that Maddie disappeared from in Praia Da Luz, Portugal
Rapist Brueckner was living in the Algarve at the time Madeleine went missing
Brueckner spent his first night as a free man in Kiel in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein where his lawyers are based and had planned to stay there.
But he was panicked by the large police presence so boarded a train to another city nearby.
Farouk said: “Brueckner said one of his conditions was that he had to register a place to live so he could come to our town to register as homeless.
“He said he knew that meant he would get given an apartment here.
“He knew how the system works.
“But he said his lawyers had tried to take him to their home city of Kiel.
He said he wanted to go somewhere where the police wouldn’t follow him all the time, even though he asked for police protection. It was totally clear he wanted to lose the officers following him so he could do what he wanted
Farouk Salah-Brahmin
“He spent his first night as a free man there in a hotel.
“But he said he decided he couldn’t stay there because there were ‘too many police’.
“He felt like there were police everywhere and he wanted to go somewhere with less police.
“He said he wanted to go somewhere where the police wouldn’t follow him all the time, even though he asked for police protection.
“It was totally clear he wanted to lose the officers following him so he could do what he wanted.”
Since being released last Wednesday it has been clear Brueckner has already repeatedly defied his lawyers’ wishes by refusing to keep a low profile.
AFPBrueckner was released from prison last week[/caption]
Dan CharityA police convoy took Bruckner to a safe house after his release[/caption]
Dan CharityHe covered his face with a blanket as the car sped past reporters[/caption]
AFPAn aerial shot of the jail where Brueckner was caged[/caption]
As well as being snapped at the shop, he had been spotted partying at a nightclub — only 48 hours after being released — and begging for free pizzas from Domino’s in disguise.
He bragged to phone shop boss Farouk about his plans to build a new life for himself in his current city and get a permanent apartment.
Farouk said: “He said he wants to stay here and make a life because he knows the north of Germany very well.
“But everyone hates him here. No one wants him here.
He said he wants to stay here and make a life because he knows the north of Germany very well. But everyone hates him here. No one wants him here
Farouk Salah-Brahmin
“I told friends. They are scared because everyone who has children knows he’s a paedophile and a violent sex offender.”
Brueckner has been a suspect over Madeleine’s abduction and murder for German police since 2020 but never faced charges.
His lawyers have continued to insist on their client’s innocence in the McCann case.
TIMELINE OF THE MADDIE CASE
HERE’S a timeline of the case which has gripped the world.
May 3, 2007
Madeleine McCann disappears from her family’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, sparking a massive police search and becoming one of the most famous missing persons cases in history.
January 15, 2016
Neighbour reports a possible ‘grave’ at Brueckner’s abandoned factory in East Germany.
Cops find disturbing images on USB sticks and launch a full-scale search.
February 16, 2016
Christian Brueckner is convicted for abusing a girl of five in a park after images found on his laptop.
He was sentenced to 15-months behind bars but was already on the run by then.
May 3, 2017
Around this time, Helge B calls an information hotline after watching a ten-year anniversary special on the disappearance of Madeleine McCann.
He reports an alleged confession by Christian Brueckner.
September 27, 2018
On-the-run Christian Brueckner is arrested over outstanding drugs claims in Italy.
He is extradited to Germany the following year.
December 16, 2019
Christian Brueckner was convicted, in Germany, for the 2005 rape of an American woman in Praia da Luz, Portugal, after his DNA was matched to a hair found on her bed.
He was sentenced to seven years behind bars.
June 4, 2020
German prosecutors reveal to the world they have a suspect in custody under investigation for the abduction of Madeleine McCann.
For the first time they claim Madeleine is dead.
German media later name him as Christian B (Christian Brueckner).
June 23, 2023
In his first interview, witness Helge B alleges to German newspaper Bild that Christian Brueckner all-but-confessed the Madeleine abduction to him, by allegedly saying “she didn’t scream” as they talked about the case, at a music festival, in Spain.
February 16, 2024
Brueckner goes on trial accused of none-McCann allegations of rape and sex assault, in Braunschweig, Germany.
Prosecutors hope for a conviction to keep him behind bars permanently and lead to McCann charges.
October 8, 2024
Brueckner was acquitted of all claims.
Prosecutors launch an appeal, however. Decision pending.
June 1, 2025
Police order a renewed search for clues in Praia Da Luz on the Algarve in Portugal.
It lasts for just three days.
September 17, 2025
Christian Brueckner released from jail after serving sentence for rape and allowed to walk free.