Norfolk man faces jail after "Fake Sheikh" Tulisa sting
Norfolk man Alan Smith and "Fake Sheikh" reporter Mazher Mahmood have been found guilty of conspiring to pervert the course of justice following a trial at the Old Bailey.
The former undercover News of the World reporter, 53, and Smith, 67, conspired to suppress evidence in the collapsed drugs trial of N-Dubz singer Tulisa Contostavlos.
The singer had been accused of arranging for Mahmood to be sold £800 of cocaine by one of her contacts following an elaborate sting for the Sun on Sunday in May 2013.
During a meeting at the Metropolitan Hotel in London, Mahmood pretended to be a film producer and plied Miss Contostavlos with alcohol as they discussed an acting role alongside Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio.
As Smith, who is from Dereham, drove the former X Factor judge to her Hertfordshire home, she allegedly discussed a family member who had a drugs problem.
When he was interviewed by police about the journey over a year later, Smith recalled the conversation.
However, a day later, after speaking to Mahmood and emailing his draft statement, the singer's anti-drugs comments were removed, the court heard.