Four people-smugglers could be facing life sentences after the deaths of 39 migrants
- Credit: PA
Four people-smugglers could be facing life sentences for the manslaughter of 39 migrants whose bodies were discovered in the back of a trailer in Essex.
The Vietnamese victims, aged between 15 and 44, suffocated in a container as they were shipped to Purfleet, Essex, from Belgium on October 23, 2019.
Romanian ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 43, from Basildon, and truck driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, from County Down, were found guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter and plotting to people smuggle last month following a trial at the Old Bailey.
Haulier boss Ronan Hughes, 41, of Armagh, and 26-year-old lorry driver Maurice Robinson, of Craigavon, admitted the offences.