A British pedophile confessed that he knew what happened to Madeleine McCann before he died of cancer, it has been claimed.
Notorious rapist Raymond Hewlett wrote a letter from his deathbed claiming that a gypsy friend had admitted he abducted Madeleine from Portugal's Praia da Luz resort in 2007, The Sun newspaper reported.
The friend, whose identity is not known, reportedly said that he had taken Madeleine and given her to a gypsy gang.
The claim has been made public after Hewlett's son Wayne came forward saying he received the letter in April — days before his father's death.
"My dad said this gang had been operating for a long time and had snatched children before for couples who couldn't have children of their own," Wayne Hewlett told The Sun.
"Maddie had been targeted. They took photos of children and sent them to the people they were acting for. And they said 'yes' or 'no'."
Private investigators acting for Madeleine's parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, are said to be "very interested" about the letter.
Hewlett is understood to have been living not far from Praia da Luz at the time Madeleine went missing.
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