question for maria

hello maria i didnt know where to post this question .
the case regarding Joaquim Jose Marques would you be able to tell me who was on his case ?im trying to find out about him and his past but i can only find things about him and madeleines case .
was he ever arrested for drugs as the press say he was a drug traffiker ,wasnt amaral head of the drugs squad
sorry for all the questions

Hi Kaz!

I didn't pay much attention to this name, only remember his 'reception' to reporters at the time. HOWEVER, what the papers say, is not that he was linked to drugs but that he was convicted to 5 years imprionment, along with an accomplice, for raping a british girl 17 yo. His accomplice 'took care' of her friend, 18 yo. That was back in 1996 in PdL. Apparently, PJ went to his place back in May/2007, three weeks after Madeleine disappeared, and then again when the news broke out. Not to interrogate him but to have an informal conversation with him, and found he was clean. (I guess that as it was an informal conversation, it is not reproduced in the files, but I'll lok for it afterwards). Also, it was said by Amaral that these were no more than attempts of the McCanns to throw suspicions and distract from suspicions hanging over them.

Anyway, both the McCanns and Gail Cooper dismissed him as the 'creepy man'.

But the man has an interesting story... And PJ's interest on him seemed too light...

thankyou ,i was reading Stephan witness statement and he remembered seeing a man with dreadlocks ,the press told us he had cut his hair off .i just wanted to know if the news about him in portugal was any different