Parents of one of the youngest victims, Nguyen Huy Hung, who was 15 when he died, paid tribute to their peaceful and smart son. While Hughes admitted manslaughter, both Nica and Harrison were convicted by a jury. 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Alongside the crucial testimony - giving a voice to the 39 - Essex Police was able to extradite Ronan Hughes back to the UK from Ireland. 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. "A load of immigrants just got out of a lorry, they just got into Mercedes and all that," Ms Andrews told the 999 operator. 2023 BBC. [56] His solicitor applied for bail and the prosecution opposed it. Despite initially protesting his innocence in police interviews, officers quickly discovered Robinson was actually part of an enormous lucrative people-smuggling ring - led by kingpin Ronan Hughes. "We are in the process of identifying the victims, however I anticipate that this could be a lengthy process. [66][67] On 8 April 2020, he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the 39 victims. [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. Valentin Calota, 38, a pickup driver from Romania, who collected migrants from the lorry drop-off spot in Essex and drove them to London during an earlier consignment, was sentenced to four and a half years. [55] He faced 39 charges of manslaughter as well as immigration offences. He slowly brought the lorry to a stop at the industrial estate, got out of the cab and opened the trailer door. But he couldn't find work in Germany. [59] The police operation was organised with a cross-border team organised by Eurojust that included Belgium, France, the UK and Ireland. 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"Essex lorry deaths: Vietnamese families fear relatives among dead", "Police release names of 39 people found dead in Essex lorry", "Trafficked Vietnamese and the lure of UK nail bars and cannabis farms", "Vietnamese lorry death teen escaped asylum centre", "UK police charge another man over deaths of 39 Vietnamese in truck", "Essex lorry deaths: 39 migrants found dead 'were all Vietnamese, police say |", "Father of Vietnamese woman believed dead in Essex truck: Smugglers said this was a 'safe route', "Migrants buy 'VIP tickets' to Britain to work on cannabis farms and nail bars, human trafficking expert claims", Vietnam collects DNA samples to help in Essex lorry deaths case, "Lorry deaths: Eight people arrested in Vietnam", "Bodies found in lorry have all been identified", "Second Man Charged Over UK Truck Deaths, Victims Now Thought to Be Vietnamese", "Three men convicted over chainsaw attack in Grays", "Essex lorry deaths: 39 found dead were Chinese nationals", "Essex lorry deaths: Police escort ambulances to remove bodies for post-mortem", "Irish people-smuggling gang suspected of being at centre of the Essex lorry container deaths has been under investigation for a year", "Crime chiefs issued warnings over migrants in refrigerated HGVs", "Lorry victims were trapped before reaching Belgian coast, officials say", "Essex lorry deaths: Two held on suspicion of manslaughter", "Essex lorry deaths: Fourth person arrested after 39 bodies found in container", "Essex lorry deaths: Driver charged with 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people", "Lorry deaths: driver was part of global ring of smugglers, court told", "Essex lorry deaths: Man in court on manslaughter charges", "Police ask Vietnamese to help identify lorry dead", "Man arrested in Dublin 'delivered lorry deaths trailer to Zeebrugge', "Police hunt for brothers from Northern Ireland over truck deaths", "Northern Irish man faces 41 charges over Essex lorry deaths", "Essex lorry deaths: Extradition proceedings launched", "Essex lorry deaths: Vietnamese police arrest eight people", "Man charged with immigration offence over Essex lorry deaths", "Essex lorry deaths: Vietnamese police charge seven people", "Essex lorry deaths: fifth charged over deaths of 39 Vietnamese people", "Essex lorry deaths: Man charged with immigration offence", "Essex lorry deaths: Man held in Ireland faces manslaughter charges", "Monaghan man facing extradition to UK over Essex lorry deaths was 'ringleader' in criminal gang, court hears", "Man alleged to be 'the ringleader' and 'chief organiser' of organised criminal group refused bail by High Court", "Man facing extradition to UK over migrant deaths refused bail", "Essex lorry deaths: 26 arrested in France and Belgium", "Grays lorry deaths: 'Taxi driver brought Vietnamese victims to continent', "Essex lorry deaths case: Haulier Caolan Gormley in court", "Essex lorry deaths: Haulier denies role in migrant smuggling plot", "Essex lorry deaths: Man held in Italy over the deaths of 39 migrants", "Essex lorry deaths: Man arrested in Middlesbrough in people-smuggling probe linked to deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants", "Essex lorry deaths: Police release image of suspect Marius Draghici wanted in connection with deaths of 39 Vietnamese nationals", "Lorry driver admits plot after 39 migrant deaths", "Essex lorry deaths: Irish truck driver denies human trafficking charges", "NI lorry driver admits manslaughter over Essex deaths", "Essex lorry deaths: State says defence raised 'nonsensical' claim at Monaghan man's extradition hearing", "Essex lorry deaths: Ronan Hughes to be extradited to UK", "Essex lorry deaths: haulier pleads guilty to manslaughter", "Essex lorry deaths: Ronan Hughes admits manslaughter", "Essex lorry deaths: Man admits offence linked to people-smuggling", "Essex lorry deaths: Four people jailed in Vietnam", "Vietnamese teenager accused over lorry migrants' deaths is wanted in Belgium", "Court orders extradition of people smuggling suspect wanted in connection with Essex lorry deaths", "Two men found guilty of manslaughter of 39 people in Essex lorry tragedy", "Essex lorry deaths: Two found guilty of killing 39 migrants", "Essex lorry deaths: Gazmir Nuzi sentenced over people-smuggling ring", "People-smuggling gang members jailed over Essex lorry deaths", "Essex lorry deaths: Man extradited from Italy jailed", "Essex lorry deaths: Trafficking gang ringleader jailed in Belgium", "39 bodies found in truck container in Essex: Live updates", "Andrew Marr Show, 27th October 2019, Diane Abbott MP", "UK sends extra staff to Zeebrugge after Essex lorry deaths", "One man arrested after 39 bodies found in lorry container updates", "Channel 4 postpones Smuggled broadcast after bodies found in lorry", "Channel 4's Smuggled criticised as insensitive in wake of lorry deaths", "BBC Two - Hunting the Essex Lorry Killers", "Essex lorry deaths: UK must bear responsibility, says Chinese state media", "Why would people from China, the world's second-biggest economy, risk their lives to enter the UK? 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. gigs and tours harry styles; ozuna and karol g kissing; thayers witch hazel original vs unscented He too was seeking a better life when, in February last year, he paid up to 20,000 to a trafficker in Vietnam for a visa and a place on a business studies course in Poland. 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. He was one of the organisers of the smuggling operation but denied involvement in the lethal trip. He was accused of "conspiracy to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law by a non-EU person". [1][4], The lorry cab and the trailer arrived separately in Purfleet, Essex, from where they travelled together the short distance to Grays. Someone said he should go to the UK. [4][14], The ambulance service said that all 39 people were dead before it arrived, and attempts at resuscitation could not be made. The migrants died "excruciatingly painful" deaths, having suffocated in the container en route from Belgium to Purfleet in October 2019, a judge said. Read more: Breaking news and updates on Essex crime. [28] The National Crime Agency suggested that organised crime might be involved. 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. 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. "My message to you is that we will find you and we will stop you.". [5][6][7][8] The trailer was loaded onto the freight ferry Clementine in Zeebrugge in Belgium. A number of the migrants discovered in France were later found dead inside the container in Essex. "All were to no avail and, before the ship reached Purfleet, [the victims] all died in what must have been an excruciatingly painful death. Witness X was taken to Phong's house in south London, where he stayed until his parents had "paid his fare" - a fare Witness X described as "too much" for what was supposed to be another "VIP" trip. They were both 35. [83][6] Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, said that she was "shocked and saddened by this utterly tragic incident", and that Immigration Enforcement were working with the Essex Police. Antnio Guterres, the United Nations secretary-general, tweeted that those responsible "must be swiftly brought to justice". Tiep's mother, Hoang Thi Ai, told the BBC why they had changed their minds. Eamonn Harrison, 24, who towed the trailer to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge before their journey to the UK, was sentenced to 18 years. Northern Irish lorry driver, Christopher Kennedy, 24, and Valentin Calota, 38, a pickup driver from Romania, were both convicted of conspiring to smuggle people into the country unlawfully. ", 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. Uk immigration law by a non-EU person '' find you and we will find you we. 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