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. Hughes had hidden his smuggling by continuing legitimate loads delivered by HGV drivers to conceal his crimes. He did not have a chance to fulfil his dream, they said in a statement. It is understood Phong is currently subject of further police inquiries but his full identity has not been revealed. In his evidence, Nica said Robinson told him: "I have a problem here - dead bodies in the trailer.". Crammed into the back of Robinson's lorry were two cousins who were more than 6,000 miles (9,656km) from home. 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[28] The National Crime Agency suggested that organised crime might be involved. Det Ch Insp Stoten said: "This crime group have been stopped on many, many, occasions in Europe and the UK - and they continued. Have a good life., In the background, a voice could be heard pleading: Come on everyone. A number of the migrants discovered in France were later found dead inside the container in Essex. RM GA0448 - A police officer at the scene of a shooting at Rayleigh railway station in Essex, after a member of the public was shot armed robbers today. 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. 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. 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. [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. Many of their families borrowed heavily to fund their passage, relying on their potential future earnings once they got into the UK. During the lengthy court cases at the Old Bailey in London, shocking details from the tragedy were uncovered. 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. There were days when he called ten times. 7th March 2020. [67], On 15 May 2020 Ronan Hughes, the man accused of being a ringleader, attended the High Court in Ireland by video link from Cloverhill Prison in Dublin. "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.". 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. The cars collecting the people inside the lorry drove away from the scene. Have you been affected by this morning's incident? 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. Video evidence showed how the trainer containing 39 Vietnamese migrants made its way to the UK. 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. 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. [40] He was remanded in custody, to appear at the Central Criminal Court on 25 November. [59] The police operation was organised with a cross-border team organised by Eurojust that included Belgium, France, the UK and Ireland. There they found the 39 migrants dead in the back of a refrigerated . [69] The fact that many locations were mentioned in the warrant did not mean that the offences were extraterritorial and the accused was in the UK and had acted to further an act of conspiracy that underpinned the charges of manslaughter. 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. The victims had used a metal pole to try to punch through the roof but only managed to dent the interior. Police later moved the bodies to a mortuary at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford for post-mortems to be carried out. Alongside the crucial testimony - giving a voice to the 39 - Essex Police was able to extradite Ronan Hughes back to the UK from Ireland. 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". "He didn't go straight to the UK, he went to Germany first. We've just seen what has been said online. The crime scene is just a short distance from intu Lakeside shopping centre and the M25 Dartford Crossing. 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. (From left) Gheorghe Nica and Ronan Hughes were jailed for a total of 47 years, while Eamonn Harrison was sentenced to 18 years. 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. 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. 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. I am sorry. Read about our approach to external linking. Inside was an almost unimaginable sight: 39 people, 10 of them teenagers, were dead. 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. He was also a good player. 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. [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 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. "I am receiving regular updates from the Home Office & will work closely with Essex Police as we establish exactly what has happened. 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. One of them, a man known to the court only as Witness X, gave evidence at the Old Bailey. Something went wrong, please try again later. Read about our approach to external linking. It is seen beside a white police tent in the aerial shots. 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