MADELEINE McCann suspect Christian B allegedly boasted to a former friend "if you like to catch a child and take it away, you will never find it again".

       An ex-pal claims the serial sex offender became "nervous and defensive" when Madeleine's case was discussed.

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       Christian B allegedly told a friend 'if you like to catch a child and take it away, you will never find it again' Credit: BILD

       Christian B, 44, was identified as the prime suspect in Madeleine's disappearance by German authorities last year.

       Investigators have claimed they have evidence to charge him and say they're "100 per cent convinced" he is responsible.

       Madeleine vanished in 2007 aged three from parents Kate and Gerry’s holiday apartment in Praia da Luz, Portugal.

       Two years earlier, Christian B raped a 72-year-old American woman living nearby and is now in a German jail for the crime.

       CHILLING BOAST

       The Mail on Sunday reports that a former friend of his, Gunter Bartl, 58, who lived in Praia da Luz, said Christian B once said: "Everything is possible.

       "If you like to catch a child and take it away, you will never find it again."

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       Mr Bartl had worked as an estate agent in the Algarve, knew the sex fiend well as they mixed socially with other German speakers.

       He said: "Personally, I think he is capable of kidnapping Maddie. He would do anything for money.

       "I knew Christian handled drugs and stolen things and I knew he used to try going into hotels where rich people stayed."

       It's claimed Christian B made similar callous comments while working at a kiosk in the German city of Braunschweig in 2014.

       Personally, I think he is capable of kidnapping Maddie. He would do anything for money

       Gunter Bartl, a former friend of Christian B

       Lenta Johlitz, 34, who worked at the kiosk which Christian B ran, revealed last year he became agitated when Madeleine's case was brought up.

       She told ITV News: "He said very loudly 'the child is dead! After all these years you wouldn't find such a corpse anyway'.

       "That was the only situation where I look back and ask myself 'Why did he say that back then?'

       She previously revealed how Christian B "lost it" when the missing little girl was mentioned - and said it was a "good thing" she was dead.

       Lenta said: "He wanted us to stop. He cried out, ‘The child is dead now and that’s a good thing’."

       POLICE INVESTIGATION

       Detectives hope to take Christian B to court next year.

       Scotland Yard detectives — said to be initially sceptical of his involvement — are now also confident he is the man responsible for the 2007 disappearance.

       Part of the evidence being probed includes an alleged "confession" made by Christian B to a friend, and analysis of the phone shows he was at the Ocean Club when Madeleine disappeared.

       But investigators have no proof she is dead, with no DNA or photo evidence linking the sex offender to the alleged murder.

       Last month, Hans Christian Wolters, the chief German prosecutor in the case, told the Mirror: "It is now possible that we could charge. We have that evidence now.

       “But it’s not just about charging him – we want to charge him with the best body of evidence possible.

       “When we still have questions, it would be nonsense to charge rather than wait for the answers that could strengthen our position.

       “That’s why we said we’ll investigate as long as there are leads or information for us to pursue."

       Christian B is also being investigated in connection with a rape and indecent assaults that all took place in Praia da Luz when he lived there from 2002 to 2008.

       He denies involvement in Madeleine's disappearance.

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       Amaral — thrown off the case after wrongly identifying parents Kate and Gerry as suspects — branded German Busching and a pal 'unreliable witnesses' in a book Credit: PA 3

       Madeleine vanished from Praia da Luz, in the Algarve region of Portugal in 2007 aged three Credit: AP