Italian arrest in Essex lorry deaths case

File photo dated 23/10/19 of police and forensic officers at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, Essex, after 39 bodies of Vietnamese migrants were found inside the lorry on the industrial estate. Four men are due to go on trial this week for their alleged part in a people-smuggling plot linked to the deaths of 39 migrants.
Police and forensic officers examine the lorry after the bodies were found Credit: PA

A man's been arrested in Italy in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants in a refrigerated lorry in Essex

The bodies were found at Grays in October 2019. The 27-year-old has been charged with conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence.

The migrants, aged between 15 and 44, suffocated in sweltering temperatures of up to 38.5C as the airtight container was shipped from Zeebrugge to Purfleet,

Eight people have been convicted in the UK for their part in the people smuggling operation.