UK Police are keen to make the first arrests in connection with the disappearance of Madeleine McCann. An international letter of request was sent last week by the Crown Prosecution Service asking for permission and cooperation with local forces.
Prosecutors and the police would not comment on the details of the letter but it is known that the suspects were present in Praia da Luz at the time Madeleine went missing and have ‘a history of burglary.’
The police are keen to interrogate the men after several mobile phone calls between them were detected in the hours following the Madeleine's disappearance.
The British police team involved with Operation Grange have said that the possibility Madeleine was taken by burglars was a key line in their inquiries and that they now wish to interview the men to ‘eliminate them from their enquiries.’
British Police said last Autumn that in the days before Madeleine’s disappeared there was a burglary and an attempted burglary in the apartment block where the McCanns were holidaying.
At that time the British police mentioned 38 ‘persons of interest’ whom they would like to interview. This was subsequent to the October 2013 broadcasting of a BBC Crimewatch appeal in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands which generated 5,000 calls from the public.
In November 2103 the UK’s Metropolitan Police wanted to set up a ‘joint investigation team’ with the Portuguese police but cooperation is reported to have been poor and sporadic.
Operation Grange is estimated to have cost the British taxpayer in excess of £5m to date and a result is desperately sought to bring about an answer to the question, ‘Where’s Madeleine?’
