A BRITISH fugitive who has been on the run for over two years has been caught in Barcelona, despite trying to convince police he was an Italian tourist.
Jamie Acourt, 41, was one of the 10 'most wanted' whose photograph appeared on the Crimestoppers and National Crime Agency (NCA) 'Operation Capture' list – one of which has been released in Spain every year since 2007.
Of the 96 fugitives featured so far, 81, including Acourt, have been traced and arrested.
The south-Londoner was accused of being involved in a major drug-dealing racket, and had also been a suspect in the murder of teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993.
Acourt, who was 16 at the time, has always protested his innocence in connection with the unprovoked racially-motivated murder.
He appeared on the Operation Capture poster along with other criminals on the run believed to be hiding out in Spain, taking advantage of the cosmopolitan nature of some of the country's more densely-populated areas, in a campaign aimed at British expats and holidaymakers who may spot the fugitives on their travels and who are given a safe, anonymous channel through which to report them.
Acourt was leaving the Metropolitan Gym next to the iconic, modernist Sagrada Família cathedral when National Police, who had tracked him down, handcuffed him.
The accused is said to have been living in a rented apartment close to the cathedral.
He is reported to have had help and protection during his two-year exile, and had been using fake ID and several different names.
Acourt was a regular user at the Metropolitan Gym chain, which has 'four or five branches', according to a witness who spoke to the BBC's reporter for Spain, Tom Burridge.
The suspect allegedly 'moved around Spain', focusing largely on heavily-populated areas with a high cross-section of nationalities where it was easier for him to pass by unnoticed.
Acourt had not been seen in the UK since February 1, 2016, when he was known to have been in Eltham, south London, shortly before the probe by the Serious and Organised Crime Command (SOCC) was launched.
He has been remanded in custody without bail and is expected to be transferred to Madrid, where it is likely he will be extradited to Britain.
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