Essex lorry deaths: Men jailed for killing 39 migrants in trailer 22 January 2021 Essex lorry deaths The 39 people who died in the back of a trailer as it crossed the North Sea between. Following a 10-week trial in 2020, Northern Irish lorry driver Eamonn Harrison was found guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter, while Romanian organiser Gheorghe Nica was convicted of the same charges. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. The trailer's jammed. [80], Three other men were sentenced for conspiring to facilitate unlawful immigration: lorry driver Christopher Kennedy was sentenced to seven years, pickup driver Valentin Calota was sentenced to four and a half years and Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga was sentenced to three years. [76], On 21 December 2020, verdicts were returned on Romanian ringleader Gheorghe Nica of Basildon and lorry driver Eamonn Harrison from County Down. After his brief drive around Grays, Robinson again parked up at the industrial estate. The man is accused of "conspiring to smuggle non-EU nationals into the UK, contrary to immigration law, between 1 May 2018 and 24 October 2019. Image: Police and forensics at the crime scene in Grays, Essex, in October 2019 The victims died from suffocation and hyperthermia in the confined space of the truck, which arrived on a ferry from . Belgian officials said the eight women . One of them was Gheorghe Nica. Alexandru Hanga, 28, who performed a similar role on one occasion in October 2019, and who last year pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful migration, was sentenced to three years in prison. [55] He faced 39 charges of manslaughter as well as immigration offences. [12], On 23 October 2019, shortly after 01:40 BST, staff of the East of England Ambulance Service responding to a 999 call made by the driver, Maurice Robinson, who found 39 bodies in a refrigerated articulated lorry. Read about our approach to external linking. The risks taken by the crime group responsible for the deaths of 39 migrants found in a lorry container in Essex were 'sadly not unusual', a senior Immigration Enforcement official has said. From Bierne, the lorry is seen on CCTV footage making its way across France and towards the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, where it was left to be loaded unaccompanied on to a ferry called the MV Clementine. ". Speculation was rife as drips of information were fed through, clarified and confirmed while politicians stepped in to comment on the deadly discovery. On 23 October 2019, the bodies of 39 Vietnamese people 31 men and 8 women were found in the trailer of an articulated refrigerator lorry in Grays, Essex, United Kingdom. He persuaded them, saying he would only have to pay the 10,500 fee due to the people smugglers after he had arrived in the UK. [28], On 29 October, Essex Police announced that two brothers from Armagh, Northern Ireland, one of whom owned the haulage company operating the lorry cab detained at Grays, were wanted on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking offences related to the incident. Both Robinson and Hughes, of Tyholland, County Monaghan, admitted 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiring to assist unlawful immigration. Sentencing, Mr Justice Sweeney said: "I have no doubt that the conspiracy was a sophisticated, long-running and profitable one to smuggle mainly Vietnamese people across the channel.". If you have a story suggestion email eastofenglandnews@bbc.co.uk, Lorry container 'became a tomb' for 39 victims, Essex lorry deaths driver admits manslaughter. Four men have been jailed for the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex. Essex lorry deaths: The supposed 'VIP' journey that killed 39 people 21 December 2020 Essex lorry deaths Pham Thi Ngoc Oanh, 28, from Nghe An, wrote a text message that was never sent By. He always dreamed of going to the UK and he tried very hard to study at school as well as learning English for that purpose. [33], On 24 October, the Evening Standard speculated that the trailer had travelled from the Netherlands before its departure from Belgium. The trailer had been shipped from the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, to Purfleet, Essex, UK, and the lorry cab and its driver are believed to have originated from Northern Ireland. [61] On 14 April 2021 he pleaded not guilty and is due to stand trial in 2023. Nguyen Van Hung, who was 33, and 18-year-old Hoang Van Tiep were from the same village in Nghe An province, in the north of Vietnam. Lorry driver Maurice Robinson and haulage boss Ronan Hughes had previously admitted the manslaughter of the migrants. Mr Justice Sweeney told the defendants jailed for manslaughter they would serve two-thirds of the term in custody, instead of the usual half. On 11 October, about 15 migrants made the journey across the channel, though in a different trailer to the one in which the 39 died. [78] Prosecutors are considering charges against a further three people. CCTV footage then placed the primary suspects together at the same hotel. What led to her and 38 fellow Vietnamese nationals dying in the dark and sweltering heat of an airtight container? "I didn't take my eyes off the lorry while I was on the [999] call.". However the involvement of the lorry drivers offered them no protection when too many people were packed into one container. VideoChess gets a risqu makeover, The Nigerian influencers paid to manipulate your vote, How a baffling census delay is hurting Indians, How Mafia boss was caught at a clinic after 30 years. He waited for 15 minutes and then dialled 999, telling the operator: "There's immigrants in the back. Investigations revealed that they suffocated to death in 38 degrees in the refrigerated container, where all the oxygen was sucked out. The county marks the two-year anniversary of one of the worst tragedies it's ever seen, Get the latest on all the biggest court and crime news in Essex direct from our expert court reporter. Communicating on the messaging app Viber, Phong agreed to arrange the trip for Witness X for 13,000. "He told me that he would only go on a 'VIP package', in a private car," she said. Christopher Kennedy, 24, another lorry driver from Northern Ireland who was involved in earlier people-smuggling runs bringing Vietnamese migrants from Northern Ireland, was sentenced to seven years. 42 Essex Lorry Deaths Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images Editorial FILTERS CREATIVE EDITORIAL VIDEO 42 Essex Lorry Deaths Premium High Res Photos Browse 42 essex lorry deaths stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. a recent documentary into the deaths revealed. The 39 people who died in the back of a trailer as it crossed the North Sea between Zeebrugge and the UK, [Left to right] Eamonn Harrison, Ronan Hughes, Gheorghe Nica and Maurice Robinson were all jailed for manslaughter, [Left to right] Valentin Calota, Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga and Christopher Kennedy were also sentenced on Friday, The bodies of 39 Vietnamese nationals were discovered in a refrigerated trailer on 23 October 2019, After receiving this message from his boss, Robinson got out of his cab, opened the trailer door and discovered the bodies, The moment lorry driver Maurice Robinson opened the trailer door and discovered the bodies inside was captured on CCTV, Ronan Hughes (left) met Gheorghe Nica at a budget hotel in Thurrock, Essex, learned of his son's death via social media, admitted his limited role in the people-smuggling operation, US porn star declared unfit for sex crimes trial, Jeremy Renner TV show poster edited after accident, Celebrities who say their children will get no inheritance, Germany: We are no longer reliant on Russian energy, City asks Madonna if it can borrow her painting, Keep cake away from office, says food adviser. [60], On 17 March 2021 a 23-year-old haulier from Caledon, County Tyrone was charged with conspiracy to assist illegal immigration in connection with the deaths. In the weeks before the tragic journey, the gang, led by Hughes and Nica, organised at least two other journeys smuggling Vietnamese migrants packed into the back of lorries into the UK. One man spoke with ragged breaths to his family, saying: I cant breathe. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. When Witness X finally arrived in the UK, he and the other migrants were met by a fleet of black cars at Orsett Farm, in Orsett, Essex. Instead of immediately dialling 999 in the early hours of 23 October, 2019, the 26-year-old's first instinct was to get back in to his cab and drive off from the estate in Grays, with the bodies in the trailer behind him. These are the first photographs of the lorry where 39 bodies were discovered today. Essex lorry deaths: CCTV shows arrival at industrial park A spokesman for the Bulgarian foreign affairs ministry said the truck was registered in the country under the name of a company. 48 year old Romanian national Marius Mihai Draghici is believed to be part of the conspiracy to smuggle the migrants into the UK. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. Among those killed was a married couple - Tran Hai Loc and Nguyen Thi Van. He was also a good player. The chief constable of Essex police, Ben-Julian Harrington, said this was the biggest operation in his forces history. [98] After confirmation that they were all from Vietnam, the Vietnamese government strongly condemned human trafficking and called on all countries to combat such activities to prevent a recurrence of the incident. He was charged with unrelated offences. [27], A murder investigation was launched on the morning of the day of the discovery. [62], In June 2021 Italian authorities and the National Crime Agency arrested a 27-year-old Romanian man near Milan in connection with the deaths, charging him with conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence. Chilling records of his call revealed his unnervingly calm revelation of the dead bodies to the ambulance service. "The day he left it was 6th September. [91], Later, China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised a CNN reporter's question, which had contrasted the incident with the Chinese government's depiction of a more economically prosperous China. The migrants died "excruciatingly painful" deaths, having suffocated in the container en route from Belgium to Purfleet in October 2019, a judge said. [56] Bail was refused on 30 April. Harrison, of Newry, County Down, claimed he did not know there were people in the trailer when he towed it to the Belgian port, and that he watched "a wee bit of Netflix" in bed as they were loaded on. All of the others convicted were Vietnamese or Belgians of Vietnamese origin and were accused of buying supplies for the migrants, transporting them in taxis or acting as look-outs at safe houses. Earlier this month, Gazmir Nuzi, 43, of Barclay Road, Tottenham, north London, was sentenced, having admitted his limited role in the people-smuggling operation. Video evidence showed how the trainer containing 39 Vietnamese migrants made its way to the UK. Relatives said the victims had hoped to take up work in restaurants and nail bars in Britain, and planned to send their earnings home to help support their families. he 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry were already trapped when they arrived at the Belgian coast en route to England, local officials have said. The journey of 23 October and the earlier failed run on 14 October were connected, said Bill Emlyn Jones, who prosecuted the case. So he did.". [40] He was remanded in custody, to appear at the Central Criminal Court on 25 November. VideoChess gets a risqu makeover, The Nigerian influencers paid to manipulate your vote, How a baffling census delay is hurting Indians, How Mafia boss was caught at a clinic after 30 years. "Maybe going to die in the container, can't breathe any more dear," read a text message typed by Pham Thi Ngoc Oanh. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. [56] His solicitor applied for bail and the prosecution opposed it. [86], Campaigners against human trafficking organised a vigil to take place outside the Home Office on 24 October in solidarity with the casualties. Det Ch Insp Stoten said: "This crime group have been stopped on many, many, occasions in Europe and the UK - and they continued. A port worker who drove the trailer off the ship later reported noticing a pungent smell that was "similar to waste". A week later, she saw the same red-cabbed lorry in front of her home, near the village golf club, during yet another smuggling run. What happened in the Ukraine helicopter crash? While the county came to terms with the tragedy on our doorstep, Essex Police launched the largest investigation in its history to bring down members of the international smuggling operation responsible for their deaths. I cannot breathe. He waited 20 minutes before calling emergency services. Robinson, of Craigavon, County Armagh, returned to his cab before driving off and making his first call to Hughes. Essex lorry deaths: UK Vietnamese group hands photos of missing to police. 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