UK - 39 bodies found in lorry container, Essex, 23 Oct 2019 #2

[CaptainNancy]

hello, new member here!

Can anyone explain why the Hughes Brothers, especially RH , were not arrested / brought in for questioning as soon as the tractor unit that delivered the trailer to Zeebrugge was identified? (reportedly by the Belgian police before they made it public that they had done so).

The Daily Mail had already identified the distinctive blue cab from RH Facebook page, and there were pictures of it on that page for several days after the Hughes brothers had been identified as the owners and it had been identified as the Zeebrugge lorry, before the account was taken down. It was easy to find from MR Fb page.

If I was conducting a manhunt, or watching people potentially involved in people smuggling, I would think my work would be cut out if it was people with a network of lorries and smuggling experience. The brothers could be anywhere by now.

 

[HayLouise]

Man arrested over migrant lorry deaths is warned his life is in 'serious' danger

They can’t even get his name right *eyeroll*

 

[Mommysleuth11]

hello, new member here!

Can anyone explain why the Hughes Brothers, especially RH , were not arrested / brought in for questioning as soon as the tractor unit that delivered the trailer to Zeebrugge was identified? (reportedly by the Belgian police before they made it public that they had done so).

The Daily Mail had already identified the distinctive blue cab from RH Facebook page, and there were pictures of it on that page for several days after the Hughes brothers had been identified as the owners and it had been identified as the Zeebrugge lorry, before the account was taken down. It was easy to find from MR Fb page.

If I was conducting a manhunt, or watching people potentially involved in people smuggling, I would think my work would be cut out if it was people with a network of lorries and smuggling experience. The brothers could be anywhere by now.

My guess would be by the time they started looking they were already lying low, they couldnt track them down. After exhausting all avenues they decide to publicly name them as wanted in the hope the public would help them? JMO

 

[CaptainNancy]

My guess would be by the time they started looking they were already lying low, they couldnt track them down. After exhausting all avenues they decide to publicly name them as wanted in the hope the public would help them? JMO

That makes sense. Probably why they stopped the bright green Hughes lorry a few days later.
Not that a massively visible vehicle with your name emblazoned across the front makes an ideal getaway vehicle

 

[HayLouise]

Private schools are making hundreds of thousands of pounds from Vietnamese children who are entering Britain on student visas then disappearing, The Times can reveal

Gangs use top schools to traffic Asian girls

The Times on Twitter

The students typically pay a term’s fees then go missing within weeks or months of starting at the school. Many disappear into the system and are left at risk of exploitation in nail bars, cannabis farms and brothels

The Times on Twitter

At least 21 Vietnamese children have vanished from boarding schools and private colleges in Britain in the past four years. This graph shows the number of Vietnamese people referred to the Home Office for potential modern slavery, by type of exploitation

Gangs use top schools to traffic Asian girls



The Times on Twitter

Child victims of trafficking of the five most common nationalities



The Times on Twitter

Estimates for the cost of travelling to Europe via Russia and overland through Europe in lorries range from just under £10,000 up to more than £35,000. That makes the costs of the boarding school scheme seem reasonable, writes @joshi

Cheaper and safer than using lorries

The Times on Twitter

The Times has linked two students to missing persons appeals. Thi Huong Nguyen stopped showing up to class aged 16 and was found in a nail bar but went missing again in January 2017. Thi Trang Le went missing aged 15 that month. Neither have been found

The vanishing Vietnamese students

The Times on Twitter

The deaths of 39 Vietnamese citizens found in a lorry in Essex should be a “wake-up call” on illegal immigration, MPs said, adding that focusing on closing borders would drive people to more dangerous routes and push them into the hands of smugglers.

Wake up to human cost of migration, MPs urge after 39 deaths

The Times on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

We're aware of and concerned about Vietnamese children being trafficked into the UK & then quickly going missing.

Teenagers disappearing from schools after arriving legally is very worrying, as it shows another way that traffickers can abuse & exploit vulnerable young people.

Missing People on Twitter

 

[Cherwell]

They wouldn’t need to chase EH across the continent. Swings and roundabouts. Pick him up in Cherbourg or Dublin? Both require same amount of effort and paperwork. Suppose it was a safer arrest in Ireland as he had a reason to arrest him anyway. The boats do offer HGV driver lounges away from normal travelling passengers on longer sailings that is normal.

That was the point, surely - he was wanted for separate offences in Ireland, so there were no complications over arresting and holding him on those.

 

[alice500]

JMO obviously but I had assumed authorities had ALLOWED EH to board the ferry so they could arrest him once it docked. They had already identified the tractor unit (wasn't it caught on camera ten times at Zeebrugge?) and I should imagine it's much easier to nab someone getting off a ferry in their own country rather than chasing them across the continent.

Totally agree with you Stella, it's quite terrifying to think that no real checks are carried out on those travelling by ferry. We have all the security at airports and then nothing if you travel by sea. Crazy

I think maybe EH was arrested as he got off the ferry was that there was an outstanding arrest warrant for him .... different crimes alleged. Maybe at that time there was insufficient evidence to charge him with anything else.

I would argue that most ferry passengers and vehicles are subject to checks ... but there is a balance between forensic examination of each and every vehicle and maintaining a reasonable traffic flow.

 

[alice500]

That was the point, surely - he was wanted for separate offences in Ireland, so there were no complications over arresting and holding him on those.

Anyone know what role Europol is playing in this?

European Migrant Smuggling Centre - EMSC

 

[alice500]

The Cherbourg to Dublin trip doesn’t surprise me. I travelled Belfast to Cairnryan last week and was taken aback by absolutely no security checks at all. No posters of the Hughes brothers up. Wasn’t asked for any form of Id for me, OH or our kids and to top this off, the boat was full of passengers and staff in full Halloween get up - so literally anyone could have been getting on or off that boat in a mask, wig, make-up. There were dozens of Scania trucks on board and a lounge for the drivers. I HOPE there is at least some sort of security checks for them!

Surely this is an internal UK ferry? Would you expect any checks ... no checks between Portsmouth and Isle of Wight either ... or across the Mersey

To be fair, pictures of the Hughes Brothers are in all papers .. and across all internet media channels

 

[CaptainNancy]

"Hughes Brothers on the run from people smuggling gang, not police"
Essex lorry deaths: Brothers on the run from 'people smuggling gang' not police, sources claim

Makes sense. Perhaps they would be better off in police custody...but if in police custody, their families would be at risk, and their safety held over the brothers as a threat not to talk.

Maybe the police do have them in custody, and the 'manhunt' is a big ruse to the smugglers. Sorry if that is speculation and not allowed (?), but I think if I was in their position that is the position I would be happiest with.

 

[HayLouise]

4 November 2019

Police could share immigration data from lorry deaths appeal

 

[alice500]

4 November 2019

Police could share immigration data from lorry deaths appeal

Yet another reason why investigations into these matters struggle....!

 

[Deleted member 238128]

Man arrested over migrant lorry deaths is warned his life is in 'serious' danger

What a nightmare. 22 years old, neck deep in it and risking your family’s lives too.

Surely this is an internal UK ferry? Would you expect any checks ... no checks between Portsmouth and Isle of Wight either ... or across the Mersey

To be fair, pictures of the Hughes Brothers are in all papers .. and across all internet media channels

Maybe I’m ignorant Alice, but having not travelled on a ferry since I was a child, and in the current climate we have these were my thoughts:

-We were told at booking we would be required to bring ID for ourselves and our children, so I expected to show it.


- Hundreds of passengers at sea carrying baggage. Thought there might be baggage scanning/ pram scanning, even at random. Kind of like getting a flight from Belfast to Inverness?

- There are 2 men wanted by police in connection to this case. Sticking on an IT clown costume, boarding a ferry undetected, disembarking undetected at Cairnryan (maybe with one of your trucker mates on board?) would be a great way to get onto UK mainland for onward travel to a safehouse.

- All this aside, how many times have we heard of partners taking their ex’s children without permission. Kind of spooks me that someone could take my 2 kids to Scotland, then onto God knows where without anyone even asking to see their passport?


Just my opinion.

 

[dotr]

Anyone know what role Europol is playing in this?

European Migrant Smuggling Centre - EMSC

From your link, thanks..

 

[Taskforce88]

I see that the IRA had a smuggling operation bringing cigarettes from Vietnam to the UK and Ireland to make money for their operations.

Al Qaeda attack on ship uncovers IRA tobacco smuggling

I think this was mentioned on here a while back.

And then there was this:

IRA smugglers enlisting North Korean scientists to work on green diesel scam

IRA smugglers working with North Korean scientists on green diesel scam

I wonder if they are moving onto people.

 

[alice500]

Simon Reeve in his program on the Americas last night said that the criminals in Mexico were moving away from drugs to people as it was more profitable for them ...

 

[alice500]

Simon Reeve in his program on the Americas last night said that the criminals in Mexico were moving away from drugs to people as it was more profitable for them ...

Interesting to speculate as to whether "the wall" makes this "trade" more of less profitable / more or less dangerous.

 

[Egfo10]

Lorry deaths trailer firm to make statement to police - Independent.ie

has anyone heard if this statement has been made yet by GTR? I’m amazed this has taken so long given it was their container the bodies were found in!

 

[Legally Bland]

Forty-one people have been found alive in a refrigerated truck in northern Greece, said Greek police, who have arrested the driver.

The people, of apparent Afghan origin, were mostly in good health, said police on Monday, but seven received first-aid treatment in hospital.

“The truck contained men and boys. Identifying their nationality will require a couple of days,” a police source told AFP.

Police find 41 migrants alive in refrigerated truck in Greece | Greece | The Guardian