According to a witness, the main suspect in the disappearance of Medeleine McCann was equipped with lock picks that could open nearly any security door.

In May 2007, just a few days before her fourth birthday, Madeleine vanished from her family’s vacation apartment in the Praia da Luz resort in the Algarve.

The main suspect in the case is German-born Christian Bruckner, a former child sex offender.

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A former friend claims that he boasted of using his burglary tools to “break into vacation resorts, hotels, and vacation homes to steal from tourists.”

Helge Busching, a German police witness under witness protection, challenged the official notion that Madeleine’s abductor entered through a window by saying that Brueckner “came through the door” of the McCanns’ vacation home.

The finding of the equipment has apparently “electrified” German police.

Officers are looking into the possibility that Bruckner, a mechanic, used the drug to sedate Madeleine after learning that he had access to automotive paint solvent.

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Bruckner was publicly named as a suspect in Madeleine’s disappearance in 2020 and was designated an official suspect in 2021. Bruckner is a convicted paedophile serving a prison sentence for rape. He has said he is not involved.

Busching, who asserts to have known Brueckner prior to Madeleine’s disappearance, told The Sun on Sunday that he and a buddy, Manfred Seyferth, decided to search the suspect’s Algarve property and discovered the toolbox inside.

The small-time offender stated that he “also found a lock pick set” in the building and recalled seeing passports, cameras, luggage and other belongings carried by tourists.

Busching asserts that after receiving the kit—which he claims can be used to “pick any lock, including security locks”—from the German police, he retained it.

The producer of the kit claims that their products “ensure faster and easier access into the most restrictive European key-ways.”

It comes with 14 picks made of black stainless steel, each one suited for a certain kind of door.

Police in Portugal have consistently asserted that Madeleine’s kidnapper broke in through a window to enter the flat.

Busching asserted, however, “Through the door,” when questioned about how Bruckner entered. Easily. He is able to open any door.

German police, according to individuals close to the investigation, think the window explanation is false, the newspaper reports.

Bruckner and another German named Busching, who formerly resided in Portugal, were allegedly involved in small-time thievery.

According to Bruckner, the two have not spoken since 2007.

A 72-year-old American woman was raped in 2005 at her home in Portugal, close to Praia da Luz, and Brueckner was found guilty of the crime in a German court in 2019.

He has been in prison for seven years.