Two found guilty of manslaughter

Two men guilty of manslaughter in 39 Vietnamese migrant lorry deaths

Two men Eamonn Harrison (24) who dropped off the trailer at the Belgian port, and people smuggler Gheorghe Nica (43) were found guilty of the manslaughter of all 39 Vietnamese migrant lorry deaths in Essex last year and were convicted by an Old Bailey jury.

Two others were also convicted of being part of a wider people-smuggling conspiracy.

Another two men – Irish haulier boss Ronan Hughes, 41, and 26-year-old lorry driver Maurice Robinson had previously admitted manslaughter.

Det Chief Inspector Daniel Stoten, from Essex Police, said: “ If you look at the method, the way they transported human beings .. we wouldn’t transport animals in that way”.

Prosecutors said in the run that ended in the deaths of the 39 people aged 15 to 44 who were sealed for at least 12 hours, the container became a “tomb” as temperatures in the unit reached an unbearable 38.5ºC (101 ºF).

The migrants suffocated in the sealed container en route from Zeebrugge to Purfleet in October 2019.