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Updated December 8th, 2019 at 19:29 IST

Portugal: Former detective Pereira Cristovao convicted for two violent break-ins

A former Portuguese detective who starred in the recent Madeleine McCann Netflix documentary was arrested in suspicion of multiple violent break-ins

Reported by: Sounak Mitra
Detective
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A former Portuguese detective who clashed with the parents of a missing teenager, in the mystery behind the disappearance of Madeleine McCann, has been charged with a series of burglaries and kidnapping. Paulo Pereira Cristovao is a long-time critic of Madeleine’s parents and has also penned down a controversial book about the toddler's mysterious disappearance. He has been sentenced to seven-and-a-half years of imprisonment for his involvement in planning to break in at properties in Lisbon and the neighbouring town of Cascais. According to the reports, Cristóvão was accused by the state prosecutor for being involved in an organized gang by giving accomplices information about victims and the target homes.

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Officers sentenced 

The news broke out in March that Cristóvão was facing a trial simultaneously as he was appearing in Netflix documentary The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann.He admitted his involvement in the gang before the trial at a court in Cascais which ended the previous month. Cristóvão also handed back the  £8,500 commission he had received for one of the raids. One of the violent raids was conducted where two parents and their daughter were kidnapped, with the gang robbing more than £100,000. Two other officers who were also allegedly involved in the raids were both sentenced to 17 and 16 years each. They have been sacked from their employment prior to the start of the trial.

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Cristóvão to further appeal the decision

During the trials, the alleged leader of the gang Nuno Mendes who was already in prison was also sentenced to six years and four months of imprisonment. It was further claimed that Mendes received instructions from Cristóvão regarding the break-ins. They then passed them on to a family member who got the two convicted cops to carry out the raids. Cristóvão not satisfied by the court's ruling. He further said that he was shocked and surprised and will further appeal the decision.

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Published December 7th, 2019 at 19:02 IST

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