It is understood Phong is currently subject of further police inquiries but his full identity has not been revealed. The crime scene is just a short distance from intu Lakeside shopping centre and the M25 Dartford Crossing. 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. [37] On 27 October, it was announced that these three had been released on bail. Five people were found not guilty. [35][39] He appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on 28 October, when the Crown Prosecution Service alleged that he was part of a "global ring" of people smugglers. He was charged with 41 offences, including 39 of manslaughter, and extradition proceedings began in the Irish High Court. When it became obvious that there was insufficient oxygen they made desperate attempts to escape through the roof of the lorry, and tried to call emergency services in Vietnam. They had been working legally as fruit pickers in Hungary when they phoned their families in Vietnam to tell them there had been a change in plan and they would soon be travelling to the UK. 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. [84] Diane Abbott, Shadow Home Secretary, said greater international co-operation was needed to prevent similar events happening again. Shortly after 01:00, having picked up the trailer, Robinson got a SnapChat message from Ronan Hughes, his 40-year-old haulage boss from County Monaghan, Ireland. Officer Maxime Saison was on duty in France that night and told how the migrants, speaking in English, confirmed they were Vietnamese and had no documentation. Essex lorry deaths: Trafficking ringleader jailed for 15 years after 39 died from suffocation and hyperthermia, The 39 people whose bodies were discovered in a lorry in Grays, Essex, in October 2019. Ronan Hughes, 41, who ran a haulage company and organised the lorries and drivers to transport the migrants, was sentenced to 20 years at the Old Bailey on Friday. Open up, open up., Another father, Nguyen Tho Tuan, recorded a spoken message for his own family saying: "I am sorry. He said on the fatal trip the temperature had been rising along with the carbon dioxide levels throughout, hitting 40C (104F) while the container was at sea on 22 October 2019. Maurice Robinson, 26, was given 13 years and four months, having collected the trailer and opened it in an industrial estate to find the migrants dead. Alongside the crucial testimony - giving a voice to the 39 - Essex Police was able to extradite Ronan Hughes back to the UK from Ireland. Ms Andrews described ringing police again after seeing the news of the 39 deaths on social media. A cloud of steam that emerged from the trailer, caught on CCTV, spoke volumes of the heat that was still inside the trailer, the judge said. [100] The deputy chair of the Can Lc District, had reportedly been told by officials that the Vietnamese government offered to only pay the costs of bringing the bodies "home from the airport" and would pay in advance on behalf of the families only if the families would later pay them back. Channel 4 defended its decision as meeting its public service obligations, arguing that revelation of the ease with which people could be smuggled into Britain had become a "matter of urgent public interest". While Hughes admitted manslaughter, both Nica and Harrison were convicted by a jury. Eleven of the victims - believed to be Chinese nationals - were taken by ambulance from . The friend put him in touch with a Vietnamese mystery man called Phong. Have a good life.". Read about our approach to external linking. "It was a bit of a shock but we're not 100 per cent sure of what's happened.". Ten teenagers including two 15-year-old boys were among the 39 people found dead in a lorry . The stories of the 39 show their journeys from Vietnam were often done in stages. [11][12], On 2 November, police clarified they were all Vietnamese. [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. "He said he would not go in a container lorry and that it needed to be safe, even though the truck option was a lot cheaper.". The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The four defendants charged with manslaughter all said they had not intended harm to the victims, but the judge noted that the conspiracy was committed for financial gain. Among those killed was a married couple - Tran Hai Loc and Nguyen Thi Van. 48 year old Romanian national Marius Mihai Draghici is believed to be part of the conspiracy to smuggle the migrants into the UK. "There is no VIP service - these are the lies people are told to be exploited," he said. [11] The police suspect that an Irish people-smuggling ring which has been under investigation for around a year might be involved. Investigations revealed that they suffocated to death in 38 degrees in the refrigerated container, where all the oxygen was sucked out. "I didn't take my eyes off the lorry while I was on the [999] call.". [4] Following the incident, the Chief Executive of the charity group Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants said that the British government needs to open safe routes and make quick decisions regarding asylum seekers to prevent such attempts, sentiments echoed by the Refugee and Migrant Rights Director of Amnesty International UK. He described how he desperately searched for "signs of life", a pulse or a breath. [55] He faced 39 charges of manslaughter as well as immigration offences. Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Stoten, who led the investigation, described how one single fingerprint found in another one of Hughes' lorries was "gold dust", leading to another man who made the same journey a week before. "This time, they simply had too many people on board," he told the Old Bailey. Driver Maurice Robinson pulled his articulated lorry over on a largely deserted Essex industrial park. Two years on from the tragedy, we look back to mourn the lives lost and the investigation which brought those responsible to justice. Sweeney said there was a need for deterrent sentences because the control of immigration, which affects the social fabric of our country, our economy and our security is an area of considerable public concern. The cars collecting the people inside the lorry drove away from the scene. He loved football very much and he loved UK teams as well as the Champions League. A father of one of the deceased said he was given two options: having the ashes returned for 41,100,000 Vietnam dong (1,470) or receiving the body for 66,240,000 Vietnam dong (2,209). [69] Counsel for the Minister for Justice, Ronan Kennedy SC disagreed, calling the claim of extraterritoriality a red herring and that the court should not engage in a "fanciful debate" as to whether other states had jurisdiction to try these offences. I cannot breathe. [102] By the end of November, all bodies had been repatriated to Vietnam. Thurrock deaths: Aerial footage of lorry container in Essex where 39 bodies have been found. The ship left Zeebrugge in the middle of the afternoon, bound for the port of Purfleet-on-Thames, in Essex. [31][32], Taoiseach Leo Varadkar spoke in Dil ireann and said that Irish authorities would investigate any involvement regarding their country. [48], On 9 February 2020, a man was arrested in Northern Ireland on suspicion of manslaughter and facilitating unlawful immigration, and was released on bail. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. [57][58], On 26 May 2020 French and Belgian police announced the arrest of 26 people suspected of human trafficking in relation to the Essex lorry deaths. 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. Robinson, Harrison, Hughes and Nica were all jailed for manslaughter in January this year, receiving jail sentences of up to 27 years. [5] In the evening of 23 October, the Belgian prosecutor's office announced that they would also investigate the lorry's transit through their country. He pleaded guilty last year to 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiring to bring people into the country unlawfully. (From left) Gheorghe Nica and Ronan Hughes were jailed for a total of 47 years, while Eamonn Harrison was sentenced to 18 years. 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. Essex lorry deaths: Trafficking ringleader jailed for 15 years after 39 died from suffocation and hyperthermia Eight women and 31 men were sealed inside the vehicle for at least 12 hours as . While the migrants were detained by the French authorities, the driver Christopher Kennedy was allowed to continue on his way to Kent. [69] The counsel for the state pointed out that the 39 people died after the trailer had entered the UK and that it was nonsensical to suggest their deaths had occurred anywhere other than the UK. Four people received a custodial sentence of at least 13 years. [78] Prosecutors are considering charges against a further three people. [80], On 21 March 2022, Dragos-Stefan Damian was jailed for three years and ten months after being found guilty of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. CCTV footage then placed the primary suspects together at the same hotel. He found none. [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. Despite the shock and horror, less than 36 hours after the discovery, as little as six bunches were laid at the site of the mass murder - something we stepped in to change, calling for residents to join us in laying flowers at the scene. [94][95][96] [4][14], The ambulance service said that all 39 people were dead before it arrived, and attempts at resuscitation could not be made. It was never sent. [56] Bail was refused on 30 April. It then travelled through the Republic of Ireland to Dublin, and from there by sea to Holyhead in Wales, from where it was driven to Purfleet. 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. The bodies were packed so tightly together, he said, that he could only check "the bodies I could reach". It's awful. [4] Other refugee groups have expressed concern that the border confusion surrounding Brexit will give more opportunities for groups to commit similar crimes. Matthew Long, deputy director of National Crime Agency, said the whole idea of some kind of special service was a con. The bodies of 39 migrants found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex were so closely packed together the first policeman on the scene could not check them all for signs of life, a court has heard. "I saw some legs come out. Those inside had stripped to their underwear in the sweltering heat and tried to bash their way out of the trailer's roof. "I don't know what happened but something must have changed in their plan, or he was scammed," he said. RM 2B4WWCW - Southend, Essex, UK. A 25-year-old lorry driver from Northern Ireland has been arrested, Essex Police says. Temperatures in the unit had reached an "unbearable" 38.5C (101F) as the migrants were sealed inside for at least 12 hours, the court heard. I am sorry. ", Video evidence showed how the trainer containing 39 Vietnamese migrants made its way to the UK. Earlier this month, Gazmir Nuzi, 43, of Barclay Road, Tottenham, north London, was sentenced, having admitted his limited role in the people-smuggling operation. Have you been affected by this morning's incident? "The manager went to get into work this morning and it was cordoned off and we've been moved to a different area," Mr Freeland said. Some wanted to work in nail salons while one of the 15-year-olds who died said he would find work in an illegal cannabis farm. On the morning of October 23, 2019, the bodies of 39 Vietnamese men, women and children were discovered dead in the back of a lorry in Grays, Essex. Hughes, an Irish haulier, alternated between legitimate shipments of waffles, soft drinks and wine from warehouses across Europe and illegal smuggling of alcohol, cigarettes and people. [4], The investigation is being led by Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Stoten, a Senior Investigating Officer within the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate. Numbers of Vietnamese people reported as potential human trafficking victims in the past three years. On 23 November, it was reported that one of the teenagers later found dead had gone missing from an asylum centre in the Netherlands. Inside was an almost unimaginable sight: 39 people, 10 of them teenagers, were dead. Police release CCTV of missing Essex man not seen for month, Great Oaks, Basildon, closed by police after incident, Clacton Railway Club to host memorial darts tournament, Southend and District Badminton Association week 11, Street light switch-off plan not safe and not sensible, Basildon Eastgate sees worker suffer 'serious injuries' in fall, Ukrainian ministers killed in helicopter crash, Iran man who beheaded wife jailed for eight years, German police deny Greta's detainment was staged. [43] Two days later, the prosecutor said that the lorry driver pretended that the trailer was filled with cookies and biscuits. [87], Channel 4 postponed a television series called Smuggled that was due to air on 28 October, in which British citizens try to smuggle themselves from mainland Europe 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. [66][67] On 8 April 2020, he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the 39 victims. Recordings from some of the victims' final desperate phone messages were played aloud in court. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Eamonn Harrison, 24, who towed the trailer to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge before their journey to the UK, was sentenced to 18 years. Update: Essex police have confirmed that no further action will be taken against Christopher Hughes. Christopher Kennedy, 24, from County Armagh, was jailed for seven years; Valentin Calota, 38, of Birmingham, for four-and-a-half years; and Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga, 28, of Hobart Road, Tilbury, Essex, was given a three-year sentence. [42] A Belgian public prosecutor said that this was the lorry driver they had been searching for, who had been seen on CCTV ten times at Zeebrugge while dropping off the refrigerated trailer. 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.". First to the scene were paramedics from the East of England Ambulance Service, who were praised by chief executive Dorothy Hosein for their "incredible professionalism in very difficult circumstances". Early indications suggest the victims are 38 adults and one teenager. Essex crime: Rayleigh mum and son jailed for collective ten years for wanting to sell 750,000 of cocaine Crime Bookmark Person tries to chase driver fleeing scene of Romford lamppost crash - but falls over and is taken to hospital Romford Bookmark Boy, aged 15, charged after teen found with stabbed leg and knife recovered near Barking tube station This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. [99], Families of those who died told reporters that they had been told that neither the British nor Vietnamese governments were willing to cover the cost of repatriating the bodies back to their homes. [18], On 11 February 2020, Essex Police said that post-mortems gave a combination of hypoxia and hyperthermia as the provisional causes of death. [65], On 25 November 2019, Maurice Robinson pleaded guilty in the Central Criminal Court to conspiring with others to assist illegal immigration and acquiring criminal property. "They loaded too many people into a single trailer the people smugglers were under pressure to double up. His co-conspirator Gheorghe Nica, 43, a Romanian lorry mechanic who helped coordinate the transport of the migrants, and who was found guilty last year of manslaughter and people-smuggling, was sentenced by Mr Justice Sweeney to 27 years in prison. Emailwebnews@trinitymirror.com. The chief constable of Essex police, Ben-Julian Harrington, said this was the biggest operation in his forces history. [98] He also urged his country's Foreign Ministry to direct the Vietnamese embassy in UK to closely monitor the situation, co-ordinate with the British authorities to verify the identities of the victims and take protective measures in case it was confirmed Vietnamese were among them. There they found the 39 migrants dead in the back of a refrigerated . A number of the migrants discovered in France were later found dead inside the container in Essex. He would say 'Daddy just needs to see Mummy and the kids'. The victims had used a metal pole to try to punch through the roof but only managed to dent the interior. "They did a brilliant job and they put us in a really strong position to continue the investigation.". Tiep's mother, Hoang Thi Ai, told the BBC why they had changed their minds. We wouldn't transport animals in that way. He added at the top of the conspiracy was a Vietnamese man called "Fong", who was based in London. 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. Robinson, from County Armagh, collected the trailer when it arrived on UK shores just after midnight on 23 October. [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. Some of the victims reassured their anxious families that they had paid extra for a so-called VIP journey to the UK which meant the lorry driver was helping them to cross the border, and there was no need for them to break into vehicles and stow themselves away. [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. Eamonn Harrison, who delivered the trailer to Zeebrugge was sentenced to 18 years. Investigations are being led by Essex Police, and involve the national authorities of the UK, Belgium, Ireland and Vietnam. Crammed into the back of Robinson's lorry were two cousins who were more than 6,000 miles (9,656km) from home. ". During the trial, jurors were given a snapshot of the victims - who included a bricklayer, a university graduate and a nail bar technician - and their dreams of a better life. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. [80], Two lorry drivers who were also involved in the incident were also jailed. [1][4], The lorry cab and the trailer arrived separately in Purfleet, Essex, from where they travelled together the short distance to Grays. The offence allegedly occurred between May 2018 and October 2019. "There were desperate attempts to contact the outside world by phone and to break through the roof of the container," the judge said. Parents of one of the youngest victims, Nguyen Huy Hung, who was 15 when he died, paid tribute to their peaceful and smart son. 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. Something went wrong, please try again later. "We believe the lorry is from Bulgaria and entered the country at Holyhead on Saturday 19 October and we are working closely with our partners to investigate. Many travelled to other countries in Europe, such as Poland and Russia, before being drawn by the prospect of finding better-paid work in the UK, a lure that saw them move west to France or Belgium before crossing the North Sea. "And finding out at the very last minute, and realising as you die, that the VIP service was a terrible lie, is exactly what you see from these organised crime groups. Someone said he should go to the UK. "The day he left it was 6th September. I want to come back to my family. A screengrab of Maurice Robinson leaving Purfleet port. 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. They had all paid huge sums of money to reach Britain in search of a better life - paying up to 13,000 each. 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. "Many people around here go overseas to find work. [68], A second man, from County Armagh, also appeared at the Central Criminal Court on 13 December and pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit human trafficking offences between 1 May 2018 and 24 October 2019, by arranging or facilitating the travel of other people with a view to exploitation. "Maybe going to die in the container, can't breathe any more dear," read a text message typed by Pham Thi Ngoc Oanh. [35], On 25 October, police arrested a man and a woman from Warrington, Cheshire, on suspicion of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people,[36] and another man at Stansted Airport regarding the same offences. It was a discovery that would hurl Essex into the international spotlight as police, press and forensics descended on the industrial estate that had become the scene of a devastating mass grave. [69][70], On 28 August 2020 Ronan Hughes, from County Armagh, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 39 people found in the trailer. [13] The lorry was in Eastern Avenue at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, Essex. They had each paid about 13,000 to be smuggled into the UK and had desperately tried to raise the alarm as they suffocated inside the pitch-black refrigerated unit, which had been switched off. ", Get email updates with the day's biggest stories. Lorry driver Christopher Kennedy, 24, of County Armagh, and van driver Valentin Calota, 38, of Birmingham, were also convicted of being part of the people-smuggling plot. "For the 39 men and women inside, that lorry had become their tomb. Sense of injustice lingers after Seoul Halloween crush, Chess gets a risqu makeover. 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. ", Justice Sweeney added: "The willingness of the victims to try and enter the country illegally provides no excuse for what happened to them.". Maurice Robinson, of Laurel Drive in Craigavon, Nothern Ireland, was arrested on suspicion of murder shortly after the bodies were found at the Waterglade Industrial Estate. "I immediately recognised this cab and trailer on the news as certainly being the same one that I had seen on both 11 October and 18 October, 2019," she said. 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. Thwarted in France, he said, the smugglers were possibly attempting to "do two loads in one". He waited 20 minutes before calling emergency services. Ronan Hughes, 41, and Gheorghe Nica, 43, played "leading roles" in the smuggling conspiracy and were jailed for 20 and 27 years respectively. "It's hard to say whether that would change the outcome but we have changed nationally the way that we deal with organised immigration crimes.". [40] He was remanded in custody, to appear at the Central Criminal Court on 25 November. In the CNN report, this question was described to be "about the possibility of Chinese citizens being illegally trafficked" and "was rebuffed by the spokesperson". Our enquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened. They were both 35. [76], On 21 December 2020, verdicts were returned on Romanian ringleader Gheorghe Nica of Basildon and lorry driver Eamonn Harrison from County Down. Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. "He told me that he would only go on a 'VIP package', in a private car," she said. Germany: We are no longer reliant on Russian energy, City asks Madonna if it can borrow her painting, US porn star declared unfit for sex crimes trial, Jeremy Renner TV show poster edited after accident, Keep cake away from office, says food adviser, Maximum two drinks a week, Canada guidance advises. ", Cousins Hoang Van Tiep (left), 18, and Nguyen Van Hung, 33, died together in the container, Both Maurice Robinson (left) and Ronan Hughes admitted 39 counts of manslaughter in connection with the case, After receiving this message from his boss, Robinson got out of his cab, opened the trailer door and discovered the bodies, Gheorghe Nica, Eamonn Harrison and Christopher Kennedy were all part of the people-smuggling conspiracy, Ronan Hughes (left) was captured on CCTV meeting Gheorghe Nica at a hotel, Twelve days before 39 people were found dead in the back of a lorry, the same cab was seen repeatedly in a country lane in Orsett, Essex, This is the moment Maurice Robinson opened the trailer door and discovered the bodies inside was captured on CCTV, A relative paid tribute to Bui Thi Nhung as families mourned the deaths of the 39 people.