People smugglers to be sentenced over migrant deaths
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Four people-smugglers could be facing life sentences for the manslaughter of 39 migrants who died in the back of a trailer.
The Vietnamese victims, aged between 15 and 44, suffocated in a container as they were shipped to Purfleet in Essex from Belgium on October 23 2019
Romanian ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 43, from Basildon, and truck driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, from County Down, were found guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter and plotting to people smuggle following a trial at the Old Bailey.
Haulier boss Ronan Hughes, 41, of Armagh, and 26-year-old lorry driver Maurice Robinson, of Craigavon, admitted the offences.
They will be sentenced alongside Christopher Kennedy, 24, from County Armagh, Valentin Calota, 38, from Birmingham, Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga, 28, from Essex and Gazmir Nuzi, 42, of Tottenham, north London, who were convicted of their role in smuggling.
The maximum sentence for people-smuggling is 14 years in prison, with manslaughter carrying a possible life sentence.
The defendants, who are in custody, will be sentenced over three days by Mr Justice Sweeney at the Old Bailey.
The trial heard how the gang charged around £13,000 a head for a “VIP” smuggling service to Vietnamese migrants gathered in Belgium and France.
The network, led by Nica and Hughes, had been operating for at least 18 months, despite repeatedly coming to the attention of authorities.
Police identified four people-smuggling trips before the tragic run, with two being foiled by authorities.
On the morning of October 22 2019, Harrison picked up 39 migrants from Bierne in France.
His trailer was loaded on to the Clementine ship which departed from Zeebrugge at about 4pm, docking at Purfleet shortly after midnight.
Robinson, who collected the trailer at 1.08am, was instructed by Hughes via Snapchat to “give them air quickly don’t let them out”.
When he opened the doors, a plume of vapour escaped and Robinson stood for 90 seconds.
The first police officer on the scene described finding half-naked bodies “closely packed” together lying in the trailer, some “frothing at the mouth”.
Mobile phones recovered from the victims showed how they had tried to raise the alarm and left goodbye messages for loved ones as they ran out of air.
Others had used a metal pole to try to punch a hole through the roof or attract attention, the court heard.
The victims were: Dinh Dinh Binh, 15, Nguyen Minh Quang, 20, Nguyen Huy Phong, 35, Le Van Ha, 30, Nguyen Van Hiep, 24, Bui Phan Thang, 37, Nguyen Van Hung, 33, Nguyen Huy Hung, 15, Nguyen Tien Dung, 33, Pham Thi Tra My, 26, Tran Khanh Tho, 18, Nguyen Van Nhan, 33, Vo Ngoc Nam, 28, Vo Van Linh, 25, Nguyen Ba Vu Hung, 34, Vo Nhan Du, 19.
Tran Hai Loc, 35, Tran Manh Hung, 37, Nguyen Thi Van, 35, Bui Thi Nhung, 19, Hoang Van Tiep, 18, Tran Thi Ngoc, 19, Phan Thi Thanh, 41, Tran Thi Tho, 21, Duong Minh Tuan, 27, Pham Thi Ngoc Oanh, 28, Tran Thi Mai Nhung, 18, Le Trong Thanh, 44, Nguyen Ngoc Ha, 32, Hoang Van Hoi, 24, Tran Ngoc Hieu, 17, Cao Tien Dung, 37, Dinh Dinh Thai Quyen, 18, Dang Huu Tuyen, 22, Nguyen Dinh Luong, 20, Cao Huy Thanh, 37, Nguyen Trong Thai, 26, Nguyen Tho Tuan, 25, and Nguyen Dinh Tu, 26.
