[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. When Robinson discovered the bodies, there was a series of telephone conversations between him and Nica and Hughes, of Tyholland, County Monaghan, Ireland, before the driver eventually dialled 999. 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). 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. The deaths have been a wake-up call for police. 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. The chief constable of Essex police, Ben-Julian Harrington, said this was the biggest operation in his forces history. [55] On 29 April 2020 he appeared before the High Court via videolink, during which he was described as the "ringleader" of a criminal gang. Ambulance crews were called to an industrial estate in Grays, Essex, just before 1.40am local time on Wednesday, October 23. "All we know is they found the bodies in the back of a lorry. [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. [77] Sentencing hearings for all eight guilty men are expected in January 2021. She said: "We worked on the land and it was hard. Every person in that trailer had left behind a family. Sign up here. 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. We've just seen what has been said online. 48 year old Romanian national Marius Mihai Draghici is believed to be part of the conspiracy to smuggle the migrants into the UK. 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. These are the first photographs of the lorry where 39 bodies were discovered today. Communicating on the messaging app Viber, Phong agreed to arrange the trip for Witness X for 13,000. One of them was Gheorghe Nica. Det Ch Insp Daniel Stoten said: "May this serve as a warning to those who think it's OK to prey on the vulnerabilities of migrants and their families, transporting them in a way worse than we would transport animals. The families of the victims who lost their lives continue to mourn their losses, with many still struggling with the debts of the money they spent in search of a better life. The Vietnamese 45-year-old was among 18 people who were convicted of being involved in the deaths of 31 men and eight women aged between 15 and 44. Five people were found not guilty. gigs and tours harry styles; ozuna and karol g kissing; thayers witch hazel original vs unscented ", "Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Hua Chunying's Regular Press Conference on October 25, 2019", Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, "CNN slammed for rushing to attack China in report of UK lorry death", "China says identity of victims still being confirmed", "PM orders investigation into overseas trafficking of Vietnamese citizens", "Essex lorry deaths: Vietnam condemns 'human trafficking', "Vietnam offers loans to families to return bodies", "Vietnam offers grieving families loans to return bodies", "Fundraisers help send Vietnam's lorry dead home", "Essex lorry deaths: All victims' bodies back in Vietnam", Young Vietnamese workers risking life and death on 'the line' to Europe, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Essex_lorry_deaths&oldid=1120801721, October 2019 events in the United Kingdom, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 8 November 2022, at 22:09. [66][67] On 8 April 2020, he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the 39 victims. Both men had made it as far as France - Tiep, via Russia, in 2017, and his older cousin a year later. The lorry cab, a Scania R-series, was registered in Bulgaria in 2017 in the name of a company owned by an Irish citizen, but had not returned there since, according to the Bulgarian foreign ministry. 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. Hughes, 41, and lorry driver Maurice Robinson, 26, had previously admitted the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants who were found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex in October 2019. In the BBC documentary Hunting the Essex Lorry Killers, it shared some of the devastating testimonies from the victims' families. What she was seeing was a people-smuggling operation run by the same gang responsible for the 39 deaths. [80], Two lorry drivers who were also involved in the incident were also jailed. [38] After extended questioning, on 26 October Essex Police charged the driver they had arrested with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering. They're not breathing.". He was described as an organiser for the people-trafficking organisation, arranging accommodation and transit for money. [40] He was remanded in custody, to appear at the Central Criminal Court on 25 November. 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. Recordings from some of the victims' final desperate phone messages were played aloud in court. [82], UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a tweet that he was "appalled" at the incident, giving his thoughts to the victims and their families, adding that the Home Office was working alongside Essex Police on the case. [34] British police had also searched two properties in Northern Ireland. [59] Authorities said a series of simultaneous early morning raids had taken place in both countries on 25 May 2020. He waited 20 minutes before calling emergency services. The cars collecting the people inside the lorry drove away from the scene. 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. [51] On 16 March 2020, a man from Birmingham was charged with an immigration offence related to the incident. After his brief drive around Grays, Robinson again parked up at the industrial estate. [19][20], Initially the police said the deceased were all Chinese nationals and the Chinese embassy in London sent officials to assist with identification. [48], On 4 November, Vietnamese police arrested eight suspects in the central province of Ngh An in connection with the smuggling ring. The ambulance service informed Essex Police, who arrived shortly afterwards. Maurice Robinson, who collected the trailer from Purfleet and discovered the dead bodies, was sentenced to 13 years and 4 months. On Monday . This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge 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. Three others members of the people-smuggling gang were also sentenced for conspiracy to facilitate unlawful immigration. He got out of the cab, went to the rear of the trailer and opened the doors. 2023 BBC. 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. [11][12], On 2 November, police clarified they were all Vietnamese. 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. 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. Sense of injustice lingers after Seoul Halloween crush, Chess gets a risqu makeover. 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. 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. 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. Vo Van Hong was found guilty of leading a cross-Channel people-trafficking operation that has been linked to the deaths of dozens of people inside the truck that was found on an industrial estate in Grays, Essex, in October 2019. [101], An international fundraiser through GoFundMe raised money to help cover the potential additional debts that the families might incur bringing home the deceased. It's awful. However the involvement of the lorry drivers offered them no protection when too many people were packed into one container. [66] He was remanded in custody until 13 December when he appeared in court, via a video link from Belmarsh Prison in London where he was being held until his trial. Pham Thi Ngoc Oanh, 28, from Nghe An, wrote a text message that was never sent, The 39 people who died in the back of a trailer as it crossed the North Sea between Zeebrugge and the UK, Hoang Van Tiep's parents Hoang Thi Ai (left) and Hoang Van Lanh said their son had paid for a "VIP service", They are callous and they are dangerous and they are out to exploit these people. It was accepted he was not a member of the organised crime group behind the smuggling operation. Parents of one of the youngest victims, Nguyen Huy Hung, who was 15 when he died, paid tribute to their peaceful and smart son. A 25-year-old lorry driver from Northern Ireland has been arrested, Essex Police says. Eleven of the victims - believed to be Chinese nationals - were taken by ambulance from . [1], Soon after the police arrived, Eastern Avenue was closed and not fully re-opened until 25 October. He was later arrested in Germany. [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. THE 39 migrants who died in the back of a lorry trailer in Essex left bloody handprints on the inside doors of the metal container, it has been reported. The twice-daily update will deliver the top news and features to your inbox every morning and evening. 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. Det Ch Insp Stoten said: "The officers who attended that - most of them were very young in service and some of them had never experienced a dead person, a deceased person, before. One man spoke with ragged breaths to his family, saying: I cant breathe. The prosecution described the people-smuggling conspiracy as sophisticated, long-running and profitable. He found none. Many of their families borrowed heavily to fund their passage, relying on their potential future earnings once they got into the UK. 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], 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. [28] The National Crime Agency suggested that organised crime might be involved. Signing up to the newsletter is simple. The first responders who arrived at the lorry were met by the devastating and traumatic sight of the bodies of the men and women lying dead in the back.
essex lorry deaths crime scene photos
Publikováno 19.2.2023