A convicted child abuser and his girlfriend were being questioned by police in southern Spain last night over the kidnapping of Madeleine McCann.

Danilo Chemello, 61, and Aurora Pereira Vaz were arrested in a dawn raid on a beachside villa in the exclusive Sotogrande resort in Algeciras. Reports said part of the villa’s garage had been converted into a child’s bedroom.

Mr Chemello has been on the run from France for his suspected links to criminal activities. The Italian national was previously jailed for 18 months for child abuse. His Portuguese girlfriend is reportedly being investigated over allegations that she is involved in illegal adoptions in Europe.

A police source said that the Mr Chemello had been under surveillance after claiming on June 8 that he knew what had happened to Madeleine following her abduction 57 days ago. He wanted to negotiate with her parents, Kate and Gerry McCann, to claim the £2.5 million reward on offer for their daughter’s safe return.

Portuguese police said they had yet to establish a “direct link” with her disappearance from an Algarve resort.

A Spanish police spokesman said last night: “The police began to investigate them after finding out they attempted to get in contact with the parents of Madeleine to claim the reward offered. The facts suggest that this is some fraudsters although the police investigation is not closed.

“As the investigation progressed the agents found that that the male had a international arrest warrant issued by France for the crime of illicit association. In addition this person had completed an 18-month prison sentence in France for child abuse.” Chief Inspector Olegario Sousa, of the Portuguese PolÍ-cia Judiciária, confirmed that it had been involved in the operation. “We thought they might be involved in the Madeleine case,” he said. “It is a possibility, but we have found no concrete evidence yet.”

A spokeswoman for Madeleine’s parents said that they had not been made aware of the arrest until last night. The couple, from Rothley, Leicestershire, are still in Praia da Luz.

Brian Kennedy, Madeleine’s great uncle, said: “We are trying not to get our hopes up too much because they so frequently get dashed.” He said the family welcomed the arrest because it meant that people were still keeping a lookout for her and that they had not forgotten about her plight. “It means they have not forgotten Madeleine and that is very pleasing, even if the reports come to nothing,” he said.

The arrests come a day after a Spanish journalist told Portuguese police that he had evidence that Madeleine was abducted by a convicted sex attacker known as “the Frenchman”. Antonio Toscano claimed that Madeleine was still alive and had been abducted so she could be sold to an international paedophile ring. “The Frenchman”, who was living in Spain, was allegedly heard saying he was travelling to the Algarve shortly before Madeleine was taken.

Madeleine vanished from her bed, where she was sleeping between two-year-old twins Sean and Amelie, while her parents dined at a nearby restaurant in the Ocean Club resort on May 3.

The only official police suspect in the case, Robert Murat, an English father who lives with his mother 160 yards from where Madeleine was snatched, has always insisted he is innocent.

Police in Portugal have always believed that Madeleine might have been taken by an international paedophile ring and taken out of the country within hours of her abduction.

Mr and Mrs McCann made a series of visits across Europe last month to seek assurances that police forces were hunting for their daughter and to raise public awareness of her disappearance. The first visit was to Rome to see the Pope and the second to Madrid.

The port of Algeciras is just a six-hour drive from Praia da Luz. Border police were not informed of Madeleine’s abduction for more than ten hours.A fast ferry service from Algeciras reaches Morocco in less than an hour. Mr McCann, 39, and his wife, 38, both doctors, visited Morocco last month to promote the search for their daughter.

Residents in the exclusive Sotogrande residential estate said that they were shocked by the arrests. The Duchess of York is a regular visitor, presenting the winner’s trophy last August in the Sotogrande Lexus Polo Tournament, and it is popular with wealthy Gibraltarians, many of whom commute daily.

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