Ex-suspect in Stephen Lawrence case jailed

A FORMER suspect in the murder of Stephen Lawrence has been jailed for more than six years over a £4 million drugs plot.

Neil Acourt was arrested in relation to the racist attack on the 18-year-old, who was stabbed to death by a gang of white men at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London, in 1993.

The 41-year-old, who is also known as Neil Stuart, was described as the “man at the top” of the scheme funnelling huge amounts of cannabis to the North East of England.

Acourt, of Eltham, was sentenced to six years and three months behind bars at Kingston Crown Court for conspiracy to supply a Class B drug.

The judge Recorder Paul Clements described him as being at a very high level in the plot, with others reporting to him.

He added: “Perhaps one of the problems with you is that, for various reasons, you have heard too much negativity about you and begun to believe the negative publicity about you.

“Perhaps it’s time to walk away from that aspect of your personality and whatever or whoever it is controlling those parts.”

He described the plot as a pre-planned and concerted effort to move substantial amounts of cannabis “that in any estimation would have kept the people of the Newcastle area in spliffs for many a long day”.

The two-year conspiracy involved dozens of 600-mile round trips from London to the South Shields area, driving drugs up and bringing cash back.

Acourt’s co-defendants were also handed substantial jail terms for their various roles in the drugs plot.

Acourt, a father of one, was a “buffer”, handling more than a dozen bundles of cash, ranging from £15,000 to £40,000 each, in return for 2.5 per cent of the money. Pictures from our archive