Christian Brueckner, the prime suspect in Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, has revealed his post-prison plans in a bombshell new interview.

The 48-year-old convicted paedophile has vowed to flee and disappear after his prison release later this year, and has hinted at escaping to a country without an extradition treaty with Germany before going into hiding.

Speaking from his prison cell, Brueckner mentioned that he was looking forward to a “nice steak and a beer” upon his release.

He also raged at how “half the world considers me a cruel rapist” for his naming as the lead suspect in Madeleine’s vanishing.

Madeleine McCann disappeared during a family holiday in 2007PA

But his words have met with scorn by German broadcaster RTL’s interviewer Ulrich Oppold, who said: “I had the feeling that I was looking at a man who was not aware of any guilt.”

German authorities have launched an extensive new search operation around Brueckner’s former Algarve home as they race against time to find evidence before his release.

Some 30 officers from the BKA, Germany’s equivalent of the FBI, arrived in Portugal on Tuesday morning to begin fresh searches on the outskirts of Praia da Luz.

The operation is using ground-penetrating radar equipment capable of scanning up to 15ft below the surface.

German authorities have launched an extensive new search operation around Brueckner’s former Algarve home

REUTERS

The radar uses high-frequency radio waves to detect unusual features in the soil, allowing police to probe a wider area without unnecessary digging.

Searches are set to cover a 26-mile strip of land around Brueckner’s former cottage, focusing on 20 plots of land east of the Algarve resort town.

The operation will concentrate on a wooded inland area known as Atalaia, roughly a 10-minute drive from where three-year-old Madeleine went missing in 2007.

Detectives will focus on groundworks, wells, ruins and water tanks. Two wells will be emptied and searched, according to local media reports.

Police sources told Portuguese media they are looking for Madeleine’s body or any indication she may once have been there.

Detectives in Portugal will focus on groundworks, wells, ruins and water tanks

PA

Brueckner is currently serving a seven-year prison sentence for raping an American tourist in Praia da Luz in 2005 and is due to be released later this year.

The latest searches represent the most extensive operation since 2008 and are believed to be a final push to secure forensic evidence required to charge him.

In 2023, police carried out unsuccessful searches near the Barragem do Arade reservoir, 30 miles from Praia da Luz.

Philipp Marquort, one of Brueckner’s lawyers, previously said: “If I were him, I would leave Europe and look for a state which doesn’t extradite to Europe or Great Britain, maybe like Suriname.”