Essex lorry deaths people-smuggling 'ringleader' jailed over deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants

BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE Undated family handout photo issued by Essex Police of (left to right top row) Dinh Dinh Binh, Nguyen Minh Quang, Nguyen Huy Phong, Le Van Ha, Nguyen Van Hiep, Bui Phan Thang, Nguyen Van Hung, Nguyen Huy Hung, Nguyen Tien Dung, Pham Thi Tra My, (left to right second row) Tran Khanh Tho, Nguyen Van Nhan, Vo Ngoc Nam, Vo Van Linh, Nguyen Ba Vu Hung, Vo Nhan Du, Tran Hai Loc, Tran Manh Hung, Nguyen Thi Van, Bui Thi Nhung, (third row left to right) Hoang Van Tiep, Tran Thi Ngoc, Phan Thi Thanh,Tran Thi Tho, Duong Minh Tuan, Pham Thi Ngoc Oanh, Tran Thi Mai Nhung, Le Trong Thanh, Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Hoang Van Hoi, (bottom row left to right) Tran Ngoc Hieu, Cao Tien Dung, Dinh Dinh Thai Quyen, Dang Huu Tuyen, Nguyen Dinh Luong , Cao Huy Thanh, Nguyen Trong Thai, Nguyen Tho Tuan and Nguyen Dinh Tu, the 39 Vietnamese migrants, aged between 15 and 44, that were found dead in the back of a trailer in Essex on October 23 last year. Gheorghe Nica, 43, and Eamonn Harrison, 24, have been found guilty at the Old Bailey of the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese men women and children who suffocated as they were smuggled into Britain in a lorry trailer. The jury, which deliberated for nearly 23 hours, also convicted them of their part in a wider people-smuggling operation with Christopher Kennedy, 24, and Valentin Calota, 38.
The 39 people who lost their lives in the container of a truck bound for the UK.

Eighteen people have been convicted in Europe over the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants, whose bodies were found in a lorry container in Essex.

A court in Bruges convicted the Vietnamese "ringleader" and other members of the group involved in the people smuggling operation.

The victims, between the ages of 15 and 44, were found in Grays, Essex, on October 23, 2019, inside the refrigerated container of a lorry that had arrived by ferry from Belgium.

UK courts had already found a Northern Irish truck driver Romanian mechanic and guilty over the deaths.

39 people were found dead in the lorry trailer in Essex in October 2019. Credit: PA

The Bruges correctional court found what it called a Vietnamese ringleader in Belgium guilty and imposed a 15-year jail term during a hearing on Wednesday.

Others were given one to 10-year sentences while five were found not guilty.

It was still unclear if they would appeal the sentence.