Former Stephen Lawrence murder suspect among most wanted
Jamie Acourt is one of ten British fugitives named as the most wanted in Spain for his role in a cannabis smuggling ring.
Jamie Acourt is one of ten British fugitives named as the most wanted in Spain for his role in a cannabis smuggling ring.
Mr Acourt was a suspect in Stephen Lawrences murder in 1993, a case that led to heavy criticism of the Metropolitan Police Service including being branded institutionally racist.
He was one of five youths arrested following accusations that they were the gang involved in Mr Lawrences murder.
Among the most wanted is Sarah Panitzke, who was the co-conspirator of a gang involved in a vast mobile phone VAT fraud.
She was convicted of conspiracy to acquire criminal property, VAT fraud, money laundering and ordered to repay £2.4 million or serve more time in jail. She has since fled the country.
Also on the list is prolific conman Mark Acklom who is wanted for posing as an MI6 spy to con a woman out of £850,000.
Mr Acklom was previously jailed in Spain for three years after convincing two brothers to pay him £200,000 as a deposit on the sale of buildings he did not own.
The list is part of a joint UK-Spanish campaign targeting the National Crime Agencys (NCA) most wanted in Spain called Operation Captura.
Since its launch, 74 of the 86 criminals identified have been arrested and the public is being asked to assist in the capture of the rest.
The success of Operation Captura has partly been down to four metre digital screens with faces of the fugitives attached to a van touring areas such as Benidorm, Malaga and Puerto.
However, the NCA warned the UK could lose access to vital Europol intelligence by the end of the year following Brexit.
Steve Reynolds, head of international operations for the NCA, said: “The fugitives we are hunting are wanted for serious crimes and must be returned to the UK to face justice.
“Many of them use Spain as a base to continue illegal activities which still have an impact on the UK, but it is not a safe haven.
“Europol is extremely important, the European Arrest Warrant is extremely important. These are the things we are using every day in our pursuit of organised crime.
It would be a setback if we were to lose some of these facilities that we get from the European Union.
“But, we would be interested in replicating those bilaterally if the Brexit negotiations resulted in us losing those links.”
The ten Operation Captura wanted people are:
Shane OBrien, 28, from London, suspected of murder in a bar in 2015.
Jamie Acourt, 40, from South London, suspected of conspiracy to supply cannabis.
Stephen Carruthers, 43, from Bury, wanted in connection with 18 offences of making indecent photographs of a child.
Simon McGuffie, 41, from Liverpool, suspected of being a member of a Merseyside organised crime group that supplies cocaine, heroin and cannabis on an industrial scale.
Matthew Sammon, 45, from London, suspected of making and possessing indecent images of children.
Sarah Panitzke, 42, from Fulford, convicted in August 2013 of conspiracy to acquire criminal property, VAT fraud and money laundering and sentenced to eight years in her absence.
Dominic McInally, 25, from Liverpool, alleged leader of a drug trafficking gang.
Jonathon Kelly, 36, from Glasgow, wanted on recall to prison to serve a remaining nine year and ten-month sentence for several serious assaults.
Mark Acklom, 43, from London, accused of fraud by false representation.
Mark Quinn, 52, from Liverpool, suspected of being involved in an organised crime group, supplying amphetamine in Scotland.