Paedophile ring link 'to Maddy McCann'

Detectives hunting for Madeleine McCann have exposed a child pornography network, it was revealed last night.

Thirteen people were arrested in armed raids across Spain in which officers seized computers, DVDs, CDs, cameras and a photo album with pictures of abuse.

Vile videos being distributed on the internet by the paedophile ring showed dozens of children, mostly girls under 10, being sexually abused. The arrests were sparked after a tip-off from Metodo 3, the controversial private detective agency looking for Madeleine who vanished days before her fourth birthday in Praia da Luz, Portugal in May 2007.

Three months into their search they received an anonymous email saying she appeared in a child porn video on the internet.

The team tracked down the images but discovered Madeleine was not in them. Their findings were reported to police who carried out the arrests last month. Ten more people are being investigated.

Metodo 3 boss Francisco Marco, 36, said: "I'm satisfied to have taken out of circulation more than 20 paedophiles and those who will be arrested in the future."

Madeleine's parents Kate and Gerry McCann, both doctors from Rothley, Leics, hired the agency at a reported cost of £50,000 a month. But so far it has failed to find their daughter despite boasting it would.

The Mirror