Four Irishmen Among Gang Jailed Over Essex Truck Deaths
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Four Irishmen are among a gang of people smugglers jailed in the UK over the deaths 39 people found dead in the back of a truck 2019.
The victims died when they ran out of air in a sealed container as it was being shipped from Belgium to Purfleet docks in Essex, in October 2019.
Temperature’s in the trailer would have reached 38.5C during the voyage.
A total of seven people were jailed for their parts in the deaths this afternoon. Ronan Hughes is seen in this undated photo. Picture by: Essex Police
BBC News
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image captionThe 39 people who died in the back of a trailer as it crossed the North Sea between Zeebrugge and the UK
Four men have been jailed for the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex.
The migrants died excruciatingly painful deaths, having suffocated in the container en route from Belgium to Purfleet in October 2019, a judge said.
Ronan Hughes, 41, and Gheorghe Nica, 43, played leading roles in the smuggling conspiracy and were jailed for 20 and 27 years respectively.
At the Old Bailey, two lorry drivers were also jailed for manslaughter.
image copyrightEssex Police
Police and forensic officers at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Essex in October 2019
Credit: PA
The people smuggling kingpin behind the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants, remains at large, a judge has said, as police warned traffickers who trade in human misery “we will find you and we will stop you”.
Four men were jailed at the Old Bailey on Friday for between 13-years and four months and 27-years after being convicted of the manslaughter of the migrants who suffocated in the back of a lorry in October 2019.
But the judge in the case, Mr Justice Sweeney, said there was a mysterious Vietnamese mastermind by the name of Phong, who was at the very top of the conspiracy.
By Press Association 2021
Bodies found in lorry container
The seven men jailed for a people-smuggling plot that led to the deaths of 39 migrants who suffocated in an air-tight trailer each played distinct roles in the conspiracy.
Gheorghe Nica, 43, Ronan Hughes, 41, Eamonn Harrison, 24, and Maurice Robinson, 26, were sentenced at the Old Bailey on Friday for the tragedy which happened on October 23 2019.
Also jailed were Christopher Kennedy, 24, Valentin Calota, 38, and Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga, 28.
The court heard how British-Romanian Nica recruited and paid the drivers in the Romanian community to collected migrants once they reached the UK and drop them at safe houses.
The lorry driver and mechanic knew the lorry yards in Essex well and could easily identify a quiet spot to unload migrants.
AP
Police officers attend the scene after a truck was found to contain dead bodies in South England in October 2019. Trucker Maurice Robinson, 26, who picked up the container in England, was sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison, while haulage company boss Ronan Hughes, 41, was jailed for 20 years. Nica and Harrison were convicted last month after a 10-week trial. Hughes and Robinson had pleaded guilty to people-smuggling and manslaughter. Three other members of the gang received shorter sentences. Prosecutors said all the suspects were part of a gang that charged about £13,000 (NZ$24,777) per person to transport migrants in trailers through the Channel Tunnel or by boat.