Latest news with #GermanPolice
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Germany updates: Police arrest suspect in anti-terror raids
Special German police units have been searching a number of properties in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia as part of a probe into suspected plans for an Islamist terror attack, arresting one man, officials said on Wednesday. A 27-year-old man with Bosnian-Herzogovinian citizenship has been detained on suspicion of financing the planned attack through fraudulent commercial activities and will appear before a judge. The raids were being conducted in the cities of Essen, Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Soest, Düsseldorf prosecutors and Essen police said in a joint statement. Meanwhile, the biggest German police union has said tighter border controls put in place two months ago are putting undue stress on officers and are likely to cause long traffic jams as summer holidays begin. Below, you can read a roundup of news, analysis and background from Germany on Wednesday, July 9. One man has been detained on suspicion of trying to finance a planned Islamist terror attack with fraudulent commercial activities as police carried out searches of six properties in the state of North Rhine-Wesphalia on Wednesday, officials said. They said the raids in the cities of Essen, Dortmund, Düsseldorf and Soest were being conducted as part of a "comprehensive investigation into suspected organized commercial fraud." According to a joint statement from the Düsseldorf Public Prosecutor's Office and Essen police, the investigation had turned up evidence that money gained through commercial fraud was intended to go toward financing an Islamist terrorist attack. Wednesday's raids aimed to hinder any further planning of the suspected attack and its execution, as well as clarifying the circumstances surrounding it, the statement said. The detainee, a 27-year-old man with Bosnian-Herzegovinian citizenship, was due to come before an investigating judge on Wednesday, officials said. North Rhine-Westphalia is Germany's most-populous state, with a population of some 18 million people. Guten Morgen from DW's newsroom on the Rhine in Bonn! The continuing threat of Islamist terrorism in Germany is on focus on Wednesday as police carry out raids in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia aimed at preventing a suspected planned attack. The situation at Germany's borders amid tighter controls is also under scrutiny as summer holidays approach, with officials warning of possible long queues of vehicles waiting to cross frontiers. This DW blog will also bring you up-to-date news, analysis and explainers on these and other stories. We wish you enjoyable and informative reading!
BBC News
30-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
German authorities explain supporter ruling for Leeds friendlies
German authorities have explained why Leeds United fans are unable to attend pre-season matches in the Whites are set for an eight-day camp in the country this summer - mirroring their pre-season in 2024 - and for the second year in a row, the club has been informed fans should not travel for the friendly Leeds United Supporters Trust said the club had not received "any sensible explanation" but German Police have now said "security aspects" prevent them from green-lighting fan a statement provided to BBC Radio Leeds, Pascal Pettinato of the German police said: "There is an agreement between the Central Information Office for Sports Operations (ZIS / also known as National Football Information Point) and the German Football Association (DFB) regarding international test matches. Every planned test match with international participation is checked for certain security aspects."These include, for example, that the venue must meet certain security-related requirements - such as the possibility of fan segregation - or that the local security authorities must not be required to request additional nationwide support forces."If even one of these security-relevant requirements is not met, such a test match can only be assessed negatively from a police perspective."To ensure that a match can still take place, the clubs have the option of excluding spectators from the event."At this point, I would also like to inform you that not every Leeds United match should have taken place without spectators. For example, there were initially plans to hold a match in Rostock where, as far as I know, spectators would have been allowed."At this point, I would also like to inform you that not every Leeds United match should have taken place without spectators. For example, there were initially plans to hold a match in Rostock where, as far as I know, spectators would have been allowed."
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Police officer 'is the reason' prime Madeleine McCann suspect could walk free in a matter of weeks... after cop 'paid sex offender's fine'
A police officer has paid a fine to bring forward the release date of the main suspect in Madeleine McCann 's disappearance, meaning he could walk free in weeks. Investigators suspect Christian Brueckner, 48, played a part in young Madeleine vanishing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal, in May 2007. The German national is currently serving a seven-year jail sentence in his native country for the 2005 rape of an American woman, then 72, in the same Algarve resort. Police had initially hoped to keep Brueckner behind bars due to an outstanding €1,446 fine, for charges of assault and forgery of documents, from a previous conviction in 2015. If he were unable to pay it, he would have been forced to serve another 56 days of 'alternative imprisonment', an extension that investigators believed might buy them more time to bring fresh charges in Madeleine's case. But now a former German federal police employee has stumped up the cash to pay the remaining fine, potentially bringing Brueckner's release date forward to as early as September, Der Spiegel reports. She transferred the amount to the Braunschweig public prosecutor's account on June 5, German prosecutors confirmed on Monday. The cop admitted to making the payment but labelled it a 'misunderstanding', adding that she had never met Brueckner but had got in touch with his lawyer last year. She paid the additional fine as she thought it was to do with an insult charge, which she deemed to be unjustified. The woman claimed she only later discovered the extra amount was associated with more severe offences, adding she unsuccessfully attempted to reverse the transfer. Brueckner's lawyer, Dr. Friedrich Fülscher, previously told Bild that they believed upon his release the convicted paedophile plans to live on the island of Sylt in northern Germany, where he previously received a 21 month sentence for drug dealing. However, prosecutors fear that he will flee Germany, meaning that it will be incredibly challenging to bring him to court should they find enough evidence to charge him in connection with Madeleine's disappearance. Brueckner, who has been under investigation by German police in connection with Madeleine's disappearance since 2020, has vehemently denied the allegations. Last October, he was also cleared of a series of unrelated sex attacks that took place in the Algarve between 2000 and 2017. Brueckner's lawyer Philipp Marquort previously told MailOnline that he believed the sexual offender 'will leave Germany' when released, but that he would likely remain in jail until early 2026. He added: 'I haven't had a chance to speak with him yet about the searches and I am not going to comment on what has been happening in Portugal. 'What I will say is that I don't think he will be coming out in September as he doesn't have any money to pay the fines because it went on his legal fees, so I can't see him leaving prison until early next year. 'He will probably see the news on the TV in his cell and he will talk about it when he calls me next time but I still do think when he is freed he will leave Germany.' It comes just weeks after two buried guns were discovered during an intensive three-day search operation near Brueckner's former ramshackle cottage home close to where Madeleine vanished. Earlier this month, German authorities launched fresh searches through Atalaia - a stretch of scrubland littered with rubbish and graffiti-covered buildings linked by a network of dusty tracks known in Portuguese as the Fisherman's Trail. Connecting Praia da Luz with the nearby town of Lagos, the track is a popular hiking route for tourists, but for four days last week it was cordoned off for members of the BKA - Germany's equivalent of the FBI - to conduct searches. The search marked the first in Portugal for more than two years, following a near-week-long operation involving Portugese, German and police officers at a remote dam a 40-minute drive from Praia da Luz. In a newly unearthed letter seen in June, German paedophile Brueckner boasted that police don't have evidence to pin allegations against him in relation to the toddler's case, gloating how the dropping of the probe 'will hit the world like a bomb'. In the spine-chilling correspondence from prison in his native Germany, where he is currently behind bars for rape, he wrote: 'Is there a body? No, no no.' In a letter seen by The Sun, he claimed the 'important' and 'decisive' questions about his involvement in Madeleine's disappearance have been left unanswered. He questioned if his vehicle was 'clearly' spotted on the night of the crime near where toddler vanished, and if his DNA or 'an injured person' had been found. He added: 'Are there other traces/DNA carriers of the injured party in my possession? Photos?' Disturbing clues were also discovered at the sex offender's abandoned lair in Germany as the probe into Madeleine's disappearance intensified in May, with prosecutors sure the youngster is dead. A bombshell cache of horrifying documents, pictures, children's swimming costumes and toys was reportedly uncovered at a former box-making factory he bought in 2008, a year after the British girl was last seen. Among the disturbing finds was a hard drive of images that police are said to have kept secret - but are reportedly thought to uphold investigators' long-held belief that Madeleine was killed. Police reportedly later found an insurance document that is said to corroborate an informant's account that he allegedly confessed to her murder in Spain in 2008. The materials found by police, revealed in a Sun investigation broadcast on Channel 4, shed new light on Brueckner's disturbing obsession with children and his potential involvement in the case.
Daily Mail
10-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Madeleine McCann police probe samples of 'clothes and bone fragments found during their new search in Portugal'
German cops searching for clues relating to Madeleine McCann 's disappearance turned up bone fragments and samples of clothing during a dig near the resort where she vanished, according to media reports. Investigators launched fresh searches last week through a stretch of scrubland littered with rubbish and graffiti-covered buildings linked by a network of dusty tracks known in Portuguese as the Fisherman's Trail. Connecting Praia da Luz with the nearby town of Lagos, the track is a popular hiking route for tourists, but for four days last week it was cordoned off for members of the BKA - Germany 's equivalent of the FBI - to conduct their searches. Sources close to the investigation said that 'only animal bones and bits of old adult clothing' have been found in the estimated £300,000 operation. One officer told MailOnline: 'We always knew it was going to be a waste of time but we have to show cooperation. 'What did they expect to find after 18 years? We were happy to work with them but we knew it would be a waste of time.' But Portuguese media claimed the search turned up enough material that investigators deemed worthy of further analysis at a laboratory. 'During the search, several items were seized that will be examined further by the German police,' reported CNN Portugal. The materials will now be carefully analyzed in the police laboratory 'to assess their potential relevance to the investigation', according the daily newspaper Correio da Manhã. It comes as convicted rapist and paedophile Christian Brueckner - the man who German prosecutors believe was behind Madeleine's disappearance - draws closer to his release from prison. Brueckner, 48, was sensationally named by German authorities in June 2020 as the man responsible for Madeleine's abduction and murder, but he has not been charged – and the sands of time are running out. He has vehemently denied the allegations. Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year sentence for a separate rape case, but is due for release in September and has already vowed to leave Germany. As a result, it means prosecutors will have trouble bringing him to court should they find enough evidence to charge him in connection with Madeleine's disappearance. His earliest possible release date is September 17 - though his lawyer said he would have to pay €1500 in outstanding fines from a series of motor offences to leave then. Brueckner's lawyer Philipp Marquort told MailOnline:'I haven't had a chance to speak with him yet about the searches and I am not going to comment on what has been happening in Portugal. 'What I will say is that I don't think he will be coming out in September as he doesn't have any money to pay the fines because it went on his legal fees, so I can't see him leaving prison until early next year. 'He will probably see the news on the TV in his cell and he will talk about it when he calls me next time but I still do think when he is freed he will leave Germany.' Polcie searched the remote Portuguese area for three days Meanwhile, German prosecutors have been accused by Portuguese media of failing to properly investigate a claim that McCann was run over by a drunk driver. Portuguese officers allegedly received a tip about a British man who was 'covering up a dark secret' about his German wife running over Madeleine while drunk, then hiding the body. But German authorities rejected a Portuguese request to use an undercover police officer to try to befriend the wife and firm up their suspicions, Portuguese daily Correio da Manha claimed. The report - which claims a sister of the British husband made the tip-off to police in the UK in 2018 - said: 'German prosecutors were asked to authorise a covert police operation with someone posing as a friend of the woman's and trying to get her to confess, but the courts refused. 'It was decided to continue solely with the investigation into suspect Christian Brueckner, rejecting other possibilities.' Correio da Manha said the mystery couple were 'alcoholics' and the wife had been drinking near the Ocean Club on the night Madeleine went missing. It also claimed the couple's neighbour had told police she heard them rowing the day after the three-year-old disappeared. She said she heard the man yelling 'Why did you bring her?' over and over again. Portuguese police are reportedly said to have got the knock-back from the Germans after urging them to look more closely into the possibility the 'German wife' had driven home 'drunk' with Madeleine after running her over, then enlisting her husband's help in disposing of the body at sea.
The Independent
07-06-2025
- The Independent
Is this the end of the road in the hunt for Madeleine McCann? How the desperate new search unfolded in Portugal
The mystery of the missing three-year-old Madeleine McCann has preoccupied the British public since she vanished from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, in Portugal's Algarve 18 years ago. Millions of pounds have been spent on investigation after investigation amid relentless media scrutiny, but progress appeared to have all but stalled until 2020, when German investigators revealed they had identified a prime suspect – convicted rapist Christian Brueckner. So when German Federal officers this week descended on a string of abandoned buildings in a stretch of neglected wasteland near a cottage he used to rent outside Praia da Luz, armed with high-tech ground penetrating radar, the world watched. Is it possible that this time they would uncover the truth? Officials have not yet commented on what, if anything, they discovered. But as crews packed up with a few soil samples and some animal bones after three days of searches on Thursday, it seemed like they were once again leaving without answers. Not even Portuguese police, who supported the German search efforts, knew what intelligence had prompted them to suddenly target these remote locations. But without concrete evidence linking Brueckner to Madeleine's disappearance, German officers are in a race against time. The 47-year-old suspect could be freed from Sehnde prison, outside Hanover, by September as his seven-year sentence for a raping a 72-year-old American woman in Praia Da Luz in 2005 comes to an end. Brueckner, who denies any involvement in Madeleine's disappearance, has already revealed he plans to leave Germany when he's released, with suggestions he could move to the Far East or South America. Small teams of a dozen-or-so officers spent three days this week in the beating sun as they scoured derelict farmhouses and outbuildings in the stretch of scrubland just over a mile from where Madeleine was last seen. The 120-acre area, off a dramatic clifftop path along the coast between Atalaia and Lagos, is said to have once been populated by a farming community, but it has long been abandoned because it is so arid. Officers from Portugal's most senior force the Policia Judiciaria usually spend their time investigating serious organised crime, terrorism and murders, but found themselves shifting rocks and rubble in the unrelenting heat as they were drafted in to support German investigators. They used shovels and chainsaws as they battled with rock-hard ground and overgrown vegetation. They brought in a digger as they cleared rubble and detritus from inside the old structures, seemingly to clear the path to use ground penetrating radar equipment on the second day. Fire crews helped them to pump out a disused well at one derelict farm building, which was littered with graffiti. Watching them work, it was apparent that if the answer to Madeleine's disappearance lies in this outback, the odds of them finding any meaningful evidence after almost two decades are depressingly slim. The swathe of scrubland is completely devoid of shelter from the midday sun or strong winds blowing in from the coast. The vast expanse of hilltop is dotted with old buildings, barns and other structures which have fallen to wrack and ruin. Many appear to have been used by itinerants or those looking for a remote haunt to drink, with signs of old campfires outside. It was clear that it is an area so vast and inhospitable you could never search every square inch, and the search teams seemed resigned to their gruelling duties. When one local policeman was asked by a journalist what they expected to find he rolled his eyes and shrugged, before saying: 'You tell me.' In a valley less than a mile away, where Brueckner rented a run-down cottage at the time of Madeleine's disappearance, a neighbour recalled how the 'angry' young man used to have regular rows with his girlfriend. She hit out at the latest search operation, adding: 'It's a pile of rubbish, we are all so exhausted, it just goes on and on. It beggars belief.' Brueckner's former friend Helge Busching, who has testified to German police that he confessed to him a year after her disappearance, this week issued a stark warning. 'They have to find something because time is running out,' he told the Daily Mail. 'Brueckner could go free in September and, if he does, he will disappear. There has to be some hope for Madeleine's parents.' When investigators appeared to pack up and leave without answers at the end of the search on Thursday evening, there were no obvious signs of any major discoveries. Kate and Gerry McCann have not commented on the latest efforts, which come just a month after they marked the 18th anniversary of Madeleine's disappearance and what would have been her 22nd birthday. But it is not the first time their hopes will have been dashed in the long years since she vanished without a trace. Nevertheless, nearly two decades on they remain optimistic. In a statement posted on their website last month, they wrote: 'As we arrive at the 18th anniversary of Madeleine's abduction, we'd like to thank our faithful supporters once again for standing by us and never forgetting about Madeleine. 'The years appear to be passing even more quickly and whilst we have no significant news to share, our determination to 'leave no stone unturned' is unwavering. We will do our utmost to achieve this'. Whether this most recent search will ultimately produce the answers they desperately seek remains to be seen.
