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Drugs charity chief jailed for running cocaine ring
Ellen Widdup7 Jan 2009
THE director of an anti-drugs charity who ran a lucrative cocaine courier service with two of her sons, has been jailed for three years.
Karen Stott, who gave lectures in schools about the dangers of drugs for The Fair Project, ferried large quantities of the class A narcotic to customers within the M25.
The 49-year-old, whose 24-hour operation was likened to a pizza delivery service, employed her children Vidal, 22, and Khan, 24, to manage the business when she was busy with the charity or abroad on holiday.
Officers from the Met's Club and Vice Unit spent six months shadowing the trio as they made a string of £50-a-gram deals.
Southwark crown court heard how the mother drove a £30,000 Mercedes SLK convertible, bought designer clothes and jewellery and spent a month last summer at a hotel in Barbados with her youngest son, Fabio, 13.
Stott, of Camden, and her elder sons were arrested in September after undercover police purchased drugs worth a total of more than £5,000. They all admitted supplying cocaine.
Most of the trio's clients were clubbers in the West End. Stott demanded a minimum order of two grams but promised to deliver within half an hour.
Vidal Stott, a gym instructor from Kilburn, received a three-year sentence. He admitted driving to do one deal at 1am with his eight-month-old daughter in his car.
His brother Khan, of no fixed address, received 27 months. He said he began working for his mother when his girlfriend ran up debts of £8,000.
Reader views (5)
You have to laugh at this story really dont you ?
- P I Staker, London, 08/01/2009 09:48
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presume the charity was funded by national lottery......it could be you!
- Gary, amersham, 07/01/2009 22:14
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There are no Economic articles about the "black economy". Part of the reason that Australia does not feel like it is in any sort of recession, is that we have a big cash economy. It would appear that this un-taxed and un-recorded sector of society is not greatly affected by the recession.
- Norm, Melbourne Australia, 07/01/2009 20:37
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I fell particularly sorry for the damage this is likely to do to anti-drug charities as a whole, it only takes one persons greed and arrogance to destroy trust in a system that's trying to do something worthwhile.
- Bob, Cheam, 07/01/2009 15:02
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and their suppliers?
- Jack, London UK, 07/01/2009 13:24
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