Last moments of migrants in Essex lorry horror: Chilling photos show how 39 Vietnamese victims slashed air holes in trailer as floor plan reveals bodies piled up inside - after two men are convicted of their manslaughter in £1m people smuggling ring
Ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 43, and driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, found guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter
In total, eight men now convicted in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese men, women and children
Nica and Harrison were convicted of manslaughter and people smuggling offences after a 10-week trial
In October last year, 39 Vietnamese migrants suffocated to death inside a lorry trailer in Thurrock, Essex
By Press Association 2021
Bodies found in lorry container
Members of a million-pound people-smuggling ring could be facing life behind bars for the manslaughter of 39 migrants.
The Vietnamese migrants, aged between 15 and 44, were found dead in the back of a trailer in Essex on October 23 last year.
They had suffocated in sweltering temperatures as the airtight container was shipped from Zeebrugge to Purfleet.
The “unscrupulous” gang behind the illegal shipment were motivated by greed as they pursued profits of more than £1 million that month alone.
Following a 10-week trial, Romanian ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 43, from Basildon, and lorry driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, from County Down, were found guilty on Monday of 39 counts of manslaughter.
Trailer tragedy couple held hands as dream of new life slipped away
PA
21 December 2020, 1:34 pm
Hands entwined, a couple comforted each other as their dream of a life in Britain slipped away in the back of a dark, hot trailer.
Tran Hai Loc and Nguyen Thi Van, both 35, were still huddled together when they were discovered among the 39 dead on October 23 last year.
Their bodies were carefully removed from the trailer, still holding hands, and taken to hospital together.
The couple had travelled by plane to work in Hungary as fruit pickers for one-and-a-half months, having organised the placement through a labour company in Hanoi at a cost of 7,000 US dollars (£6,000) each.
Detective Chief Inspector Daniel Stoten, of Essex Police, said the gang were greedy but complacent .
He said: You would not transport animals in that way but they were quite happy to do that and put them at significant risk.
Since the tragedy, Essex Police had been at the forefront of cracking down on organised immigration crime, Mr Stoten said.
Kelly Matthews, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: Thirty-nine vulnerable people desperate for a new life put their trust in an unscrupulous network of people smugglers. Nothing can bring back the lives lost on that day or the loss caused by the horrible, unlawful and dangerous actions of these defendants.
By Press Association 2021
Victims found in the back of a trailer
An “unscrupulous” gang of people-smugglers are facing years behind bars for their part in the deaths of 39 migrants.
The Vietnamese victims, aged between 15 and 44, suffocated in the back of a trailer as they were shipped to Purfleet in Essex from Belgium on October 23 last year.
With false promises of a better life in Britain, they were betrayed by greedy criminals who pursued profits of more than £1 million that month alone.
On Monday, Romanian ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 43, from Basildon, and lorry driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, from County Down, were found guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter.