Officers working on Operation Grange have reportedly been handed a dossier containing bombshell evidence on the 49-year-old German Sєx offender.

The Metropolitan Police’s probe into the 2007 disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine has been active since 2011. German authorities identified Christian Brueckner as the prime suspect in Madeleine’s case back in 2022.

Detectives from the force have reportedly been pressing ahead with plans to charge Brueckner next year, nearly 20 years after the missing Brit’s disappearance shocked the world.

A small team of detectives has been gathering a file of evidence for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) to consider bringing charges on suspicion of abduction and murder, with the Met’s probe remaining a missing persons case rather than a murder inquiry.

Brueckner, 48, a convicted Sєx offender and rapist, could stand trial at the Old Bailey if the force gets the CPS to authorise charges, it is understood.

But he could only be extradited to the UK if the investigation is upgraded to murder. While extradition of the German national is still thought to be a “long way off”, the new evidence has been hailed as a “huge” development.

“These developments are huge — it shows the Met’s interest in Brueckner is real. They are after him — like the Germans,” a source told the Sun.

Brueckner denies any involvement in Maddie’s disappearance and was never charged with abduction or murder under German law due to a lack of circumstantial evidence.

However, he was jailed for seven years following the 2005 rape of an American woman in Portugal and released on September 17 last year.

He rejected an interview request from the Metropolitan Police shortly before his release after the force submitted an International Letter of Request in efforts to bring him in for questioning.

Brueckner has said previously that he would seek, upon release, to live in a country where he cannot be extradited to Portugal, Germany, or the UK. The Met still wants fresh charges brought against him in Germany or in Portugal if it is unable to land a UK trial.

Met chief Sir Mark Rowley has previously confirmed Brueckner remains a suspect.

But he added: “One of the reasons we are involved is that murder is in many situations extraterritorial and potentially a murder of a British subject can in certain circumstances, be charged in the UK.

“There’s lots of maybes, so at the moment we are taking stock with the Germans and Portuguese.”

Last week, Brueckner’s appeal of a six-week sentence for verbally ᴀssaulting a prison officer was due to be heard but the hearing was postponed after his defence lawyer called in sick.

A Met spokesperson said: “Our investigation into Madeleine’s disappearance has been active since 2011.

“We remain in close discussion with policing colleagues in Germany and Portugal.

“We will continue to pursue any viable lines of enquiry.”

What happened to Madeleine McCann?

Madeleine McCann disappeared while on holiday with her family in Portugal in 2007 when she was just three-years-old.

The Leicestershire-born youngster had gone to Praia da Luz with her parents Kate and Gerry as well as her two-year-old twin siblings.The three children fell asleep on May 3, 2007, in their holiday apartment and their parents went for dinner with friends but came back to check on them throughout the evening.Kate discovered that Madeleine was missing at 10pm and a police investigation began.

Madeleine has never been found. Sean and Amelie McCann, her brother and sister, are now in their 20s.

Who is Christian Brueckner?

Christian Brückner (his surname is spelled as Brueckner by the English speaking press) aged 49 or 50, is a German convicted Sєx offender and rapist.

He was jailed in Germany in 2019 for raping a 72-year-old woman and is currently serving a prison sentence that is due to end in September – although he faces further accusations which may keep him in custody for longer. He was convicted for raping the 72-year-old victim in Praia da Luz, the same place where Madeliene went missing. Brueckner has previously been convicted of Sєx crimes relating to young girls.

He had worked in Portugal from 1995 to 2007 in the country’s food industry. He was identified as a prime suspect by German authorities in 2020 as he had been living in Praia da Luz at the time Madeleine vanished. Brueckner was said to have received a phone call nearby Madeleine’s disappearance on the night she vanished.

A search was conducted in 2023 at a plot of land, where Brueckner buried children’s toys and clothing around the site of his dog’s grave, although new evidence came to light. He has never been charged with any crimes in connection with Madeleine’s disappearance and has always denied any involvement.