Suspect in racist murder case was ‘ringleader’ in drugs operation
A MAN who was a suspect in the murder of Stephen Lawrence was one of the ringleaders in a huge cannabis supply operation before he fled to Spain and assumed a fake identity, a court heard yesterday.
Jamie Acourt, originally from Eltham, south-east London, was extradited from Spain, where he allegedly lived in hiding for more than two years, using the alias Simon Alfonzo.
He was one of Britain’s most wanted fugitives when he was detained by Spanish police as he left a gym in Barcelona in May last year.
Yesterday, jurors were warned before the 42-year-old’s drugs trial began at Kingston Crown Court that he was never convicted over the racist killing of Stephen Lawrence in 1993.
Crispin Aylett QC, prosecuting, said Acourt was integral to the “long-running conspiracy to supply huge quantities” of hashish between London and South Shields, for which his sibling, Neil Acourt, was already convicted.
“Since the delivery men were taking most of the risks and the defendant and his brother were receiving the money, the prosecution allege that the defendant and his brother must have been the ringleaders,” Mr Aylett said.
“That the defendant and his brother were at the heart of what was going on is also apparent from the fact that among the delivery men were the fathers of their respective partners.”
Lee Birks, 57, is the stepfather of Jamie Acourt’s partner, while Jack Vose, 65, is Neil Acourt’s father-in-law, the prosecutor said.
As well as warning jurors that they should consider the case solely on the evidence before them, Judge Peter Lodder QC asked them to notify him if they were serving or retired Metropolitan Police officers.
“The defendant in this case is Jamie Acourt. His name may be familiar to you because it has been alleged that he played a part in the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993,” he said.
“He has never been convicted of any offence arising out of the investigation of that death.”
Acourt has always denied involvement in the racist attack in which a group of white men fatally stabbed the 18-year-old in Eltham.
Acourt has pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to supply a Class B drug between Jan 1 2014 and Feb 2 2016.
Six men, including 43-year-old Neil Acourt, Vose, of Bexley, south-east London, and Birks, of Orpington, Kent, have already been convicted and sentenced over the conspiracy.
The trial continues.