Ambulance crews were called to an industrial estate in Grays, Essex, just before 1.40am local time on Wednesday, October 23. Ronan Hughes, 41, who ran a haulage company and organised the lorries and drivers to transport the migrants, was sentenced to 20 years at the Old Bailey on Friday. 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. 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. he 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry were already trapped when they arrived at the Belgian coast en route to England, local officials have said. A port worker who drove the trailer off the ship later reported noticing a pungent smell that was "similar to waste". The twice-daily update will deliver the top news and features to your inbox every morning and evening. Read about our approach to external linking. "He didn't go straight to the UK, he went to Germany first. His father, Hoang Van Lanh, believed his son was tricked, possibly at the last moment. Det Ch Insp Stoten said: "This crime group have been stopped on many, many, occasions in Europe and the UK - and they continued. [60], On 17 March 2021 a 23-year-old haulier from Caledon, County Tyrone was charged with conspiracy to assist illegal immigration in connection with the deaths. Who was Ukrainian minister Denys Monastyrsky? The county marks the two-year anniversary of one of the worst tragedies it's ever seen, Get the latest on all the biggest court and crime news in Essex direct from our expert court reporter. CCTV footage then placed the primary suspects together at the same hotel. "I can't breathe," he said. What happened in the Ukraine helicopter crash? Thurrock deaths: Aerial footage of lorry container in Essex where 39 bodies have been found. Witness X asked that friend for help. Communicating on the messaging app Viber, Phong agreed to arrange the trip for Witness X for 13,000. The journey of 23 October and the earlier failed run on 14 October were connected, said Bill Emlyn Jones, who prosecuted the case. Lorry driver Christopher Kennedy, 24, of County Armagh, and van driver Valentin Calota, 38, of Birmingham, were also convicted of being part of the people-smuggling plot. [59], On 15 December 2020, a Vietnamese man who was believed to have been involved in transporting 10 of the 39 migrants from a safehouse in Anderlecht was arrested in Redditch by National Crime Agency officers on a European Arrest Warrant issued by a Belgian judge. A week later, she saw the same red-cabbed lorry in front of her home, near the village golf club, during yet another smuggling run. Robinson, of Craigavon, County Armagh, returned to his cab before driving off and making his first call to Hughes. [48], On 4 November, Vietnamese police arrested eight suspects in the central province of Ngh An in connection with the smuggling ring. a recent documentary into the deaths revealed. But he couldn't find work in Germany. Essex lorry deaths: UK Vietnamese group hands photos of missing to police. Maurice Robinson, 26, the lorry driver from Northern Ireland who collected the container containing the 39 people from the port in Essex in October 2019, and also pleaded guilty last year to manslaughter and people-smuggling, was sentenced to 13 years and four months. The crime scene is just a short distance from intu Lakeside shopping centre and the M25 Dartford Crossing. [91], In an editorial headlined, "The UK must bear responsibility," the Global Times, a state-run newspaper, said that the responsibility for the deaths lay with Britain and other European countries. Every person in that trailer had left behind a family. PC Jack Emerson was one of the first at the scene. [14] The investigation was the "largest mass fatality victim identification" investigation in the history of Essex Police. 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. "A load of immigrants just got out of a lorry, they just got into Mercedes and all that," Ms Andrews told the 999 operator. [80], Three other men were sentenced for conspiring to facilitate unlawful immigration: lorry driver Christopher Kennedy was sentenced to seven years, pickup driver Valentin Calota was sentenced to four and a half years and Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga was sentenced to three years. "No-one would choose to travel in such a dangerous way," she said. Something went wrong, please try again later. Thwarted in France, he said, the smugglers were possibly attempting to "do two loads in one". 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. That call between Robinson and Hughes then triggered a flurry of further communications between other men involved in the trafficking operation. Update: Essex police have confirmed that no further action will be taken against Christopher Hughes. He described how he desperately searched for "signs of life", a pulse or a breath. Lorry driver Maurice Robinson and haulage boss Ronan Hughes had previously admitted the manslaughter of the migrants. Some of the victims reassured their anxious families that they had paid extra for a so-called VIP journey to the UK which meant the lorry driver was helping them to cross the border, and there was no need for them to break into vehicles and stow themselves away. Police have begun the process of moving the bodies of 39 people found dead in a refrigerated lorry in Essex. The bodies of 39 migrants found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex were so closely packed together the first policeman on the scene could not check them all for signs of life, a court has heard. Helicopter video shows the Lorry in Essex where 39 bodies were found, Thirty-nine people, including a teenager, have been found dead inside a lorry container, Witnesses near the industrial estate described the 'awful' scene, Police are seen at the industrial estate today. "I saw some legs come out. Early indications suggest the victims are 38 adults and one teenager. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. 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In the days after the news broke, Waterglade Industrial Estate was swarmed by police, forensics and press. Speaking to the emergency call handler, Robinson explained he had just lifted a trailer from the port and found immigrants in the back "lying on the ground.". The trial examined three smuggling attempts by the gang - two that were successful on 11 and 18 October, and the final trip on 23 October. [71][72] Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga, of Tilbury, and Gazmir Nuzi, of Tottenham, also pleaded guilty to assisting unlawful immigration in June and September 2020 respectively. [27], A murder investigation was launched on the morning of the day of the discovery. 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. He was charged with unrelated offences. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. 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