A man claiming to know the whereabouts of Madeleine
McCann has been arrested in the Netherlands
for attempting to defraud the parents of the missing girl, Dutch prosecutors
said yesterday.
Police in Eindhoven
arrested the 39-year-old, whose name has not been released, on Wednesday. He
had contacted the McCann family claiming to know the identity of the four-year-old's abductors and where she was being held. He demanded a
payment of two million euros in return for the
information.
The suspect sent the McCanns a series of six emails - the first on June 14 -
that were traced to an internet café and an unemployment office, according to
police.
At the request of British and Portuguese authorities, Dutch police gave the
investigation "the highest priority" and eventually traced the emails
to the suspect.
The man claimed to have made up the story because he was "bored" and
police are certain he has no information about Madeleine, who was taken from
her bed in the Portuguese resort of Praia da Luz on
May 3.
"After his arrest the unemployed suspect [said that] out of boredom he had
started to play with the feelings of Madeleine's parents," read a
statement issued by Dutch authorities yesterday.
"Money was probably his motive although he claims he did not really expect
to get it.
"The attempted fraud caused unnecessary distress to the parents. That
people get greedy under these circumstances and think they can cash in on the
disappearance is totally unacceptable."
Wim de Bruin, a prosecution spokesman, said the man
would be charged with attempted fraud, and could face a maximum sentence of
four years if convicted.
The arrest follows that of a couple in Sotogrande on
the Costa del Sol in Spain
nine days ago. Italian Danilo Chemello,
61, and his Portuguese girlfriend Aurora Pereira Vaz,
54, were arrested after approaching a lawyer with claims that they knew where
Madeleine was being held.
Gerry McCann, 39, said yesterday that the extortion attempt had been
"distressing" and thanked the police forces involved in tracking down
the perpetrator of the "outrageous crime".
"This extortion attempt has caused Kate and I
considerable distress," he said. |
