UK - 39 bodies found in lorry, Essex, 23 October 2019

[HayLouise]

Britain has handed over the materials of 4 victims among the 39 people found dead in the Essex truck to Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security for further investigation into the victims’ identity, according to Vietnam’s foreign ministry on Mon.

People's Daily, China on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

UPDATE: Foreign vice minister Bui Thanh Son told local media that the British authorities are “transferring 4 cases of suspected victims to #Vietnam to corroborate. We haven’t yet received them. They [UK] can only examine 5-6 cases per day” #lorrydeaths

Thứ trưởng Ngoại giao: Anh chuyển 4 hồ sơ nạn nhân thiệt mạng trong container cho Việt Nam - VTC News

Nga Pham on Twitter

 

[goldielox]

Armed Irish police have seized a lorry cab that is believed to have taken to Belgium the refrigerated container in which 39 migrants died.

The blue Scania cab belongs to Ronan Hughes, a convicted cigarette smuggler, and was seized at Dublin port on Saturday. Mr Hughes is also understood to have leased the container in which the bodies were found.

The cab is believed to have delivered the container to Zeebrugge last week. Mr Hughes is a haulier from Co Monaghan on the border with Northern Ireland who was jailed in 2009 for smuggling six million cigarettes into the UK.

The operation to identify the dead and carry out post-mortem examinations continued over the weekend as blood and hair samples were shared with Vietnamese officials.

It is now believed that as many as 25 of the victims were from Vietnam. Accounts from families searching for missing relatives suggest the victims were among as many as 100 migrants who had paid to be slipped into the UK using the high-risk approach.

The cab seized in Dublin was taken to Santry police station in the north of the city. Like the cab that picked up the container in which the victims died, it has Bulgarian number plates.

The driver, Eamon Harrison, 23, was arrested on an unrelated warrant for assault and criminal damage dating back to September last year as he arrived at Dublin port from France on Saturday and appeared at Dublin district court the same day. He was remanded in custody to appear at Cloverhill district court on October 30.

His was the fifth arrest with links to the investigation into the deaths of eight women and 31 men were found in the back of a lorry on an industrial estate in Essex in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Mr Hughes was jailed for two and a half years in 2009 after he was stopped going to Dover from France with 1,180 boxes of cigarettes hidden inside pallets of fruit. There is no suggestion that he was aware of the plot to smuggle migrants using the cab or the container.

The Times revealed last week that GPS data showed the container in which the 39 migrants died had made a previous trip to Belgium that week and on both journeys it stopped in Dunkirk and Calais.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/lorry-deaths-police-seize-smugglers-lorry-cab-hxwthjhq6

 

[goldielox]

A logistical cakewalk for C Hughes spectacular Scanias

IrishTrucker - A logistical cakewalk for C Hughes spectacular Scanias

Re Christopher and Ronan Hughes (brothers)

 

[Deleted member 238128]

I load refrigerated trailers in my work on a daily basis and we send goods to EU countries.

The seals we use are literally thin strips of plastic that a child could break open. Some drivers dont even bother putting them on for loads they're tipping again in UK. They are chucked all over the floor outside our office.

Paperwork is sometimes put in the back for drivers who will be swapping over at some point to ensure it doesn't go missing.

I'm not an expert here, but set point, i.e. the target temperature can be altered easily on the outside of the trailer. For example, a chilled load is normally set between 0 and 2 degrees. However, product being sent to a freezer maybe -20 degrees. We later the temperatures regularly ourselves. Say on a particularly hot day we may load chilled product at -5 to counteract the warm air when the trailer comes off the bay to have the doors locked.

An engineer can also download the thermal recordings from a truck to show how long and what temperatures the trailer has been running at. It is common practice for my company to request these reading from hauliers if we have had a temperature rejection from a customer as it proves the load was loaded and ran to the customer within their specifications.

Hi Carlyjam! Welcome!

May be out of your remit but would you/ any Sleuthers know if the weather conditions during this part of the journey were, say as you mentioned, hotter than usual? Could that have lead to someone altering set-point, and lead to a scenario unforeseen by the criminals involved?

 

[HayLouise]

As investigations continue, Paul Kennedy from Vietnam News tells @BenFryer & @sonwatson they just wanted to better their lives

(Video)

BBC Essex on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

Mo Robinson will appear in court via video link in about an hour charged with the manslaughter of 39 migrants, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering @9NewsAUS

Sophie Walsh on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

Plenty of interest at Chelmsford Magistrates Court ahead of truck driver Mo Robinson’s first appearance on 39 counts of manslaughter @9NewsAUS #essex

(Video)

Sophie Walsh on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

28 October 2019

Lorry driver charged over Essex migrant deaths to appear in court

Lorry driver due to appear in court charged over deaths of 39 migrants

Lorry driver charged over migrant deaths to appear in court

 

[Ched]

Lorry death agony builds for Vietnamese families

 

[HayLouise]

For the latest from the court in Chelmsford, @sharon_utv will have the latest on the NI lorry driver charged with manslaughter of 39 @UTVNews

Chris Hagan on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

I’m outside Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court awaiting the first appearance of 25-year-old Maurice Robinson, of Northern Ireland, charged with 39 counts of manslaughter in connection with the bodies found in Grays last week. Lots of police and media here already.

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter

Media are now being signed in and we're waiting outside the court room. I'm told Robinson is the only person listed for this court room today, so we should hopefully be getting underway at 10am.

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter

Robinson will not be physically present today, he's appearing before magistrates via a video link.

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

A recap of his indictment in full; he has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering.

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

A 38-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman from Warrington were arrested in Cheshire on Friday, while a 45-year-old man from Northern Ireland was arrested at Stansted Airport.
They were questioned on suspicion of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people. All released on bail.

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter

Just talking with Essex Police media representatives while we wait - the press office had more than 400 calls in the space of a day, about the same incident. The interest in this is unprecedented.

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter

Robinson's lawyer has just arrived, and has gone into the court room.

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

A new line which came out last night; a fifth person was arrested by Garda at a Dublin port on an unrelated court order.

He is understood to be sought by Essex Police as part of their investigation, and the force confirmed officers are in touch with Irish police.

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter

This actually broke minutes before I was due to go on @CTVNews, always helpful when you're already a tad nervous about not making a mistake..

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

More police staff and media are continuing to trickle in. I have never seen Chelmsford Magistrates so busy. There's also a few members of the public here for their own cases, wondering what the heck is happening.

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter

 

[HayLouise]

Agency reporter @Ewanfoz says the whole situation is "harrowing and unprecedented" - and he's covered many murders. "This is by far the most shocking" he says.

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter

 

[Skigh]

#Breaking #brexit Stands in the way of Britain's biggest murder investigation...Irish #Garda are expected to execute a EAR(European Arrest Warrant)on Wednesday in relation to the discovery of 39 bodies in Essex this week.After 31'Oct it won't apply..

Padraig O'Reilly Photographer on Twitter

just heard Brexit date now could be 31st Jan.

Brexit extension granted: EU gives UK delay to January 31 | Daily Mail Online

 

[HayLouise]

just heard Brexit date now 31st Jan.

I wonder if that works in our favour here? I’ve no idea lol..

 

[HayLouise]

Very interesting how an eager crowd can work - one journalist gets up to charge their laptop, the whole pack jumps up to queue at the court room door. We're quickly told to calm down.

Ellis Whitehouse on Twitter