Basildon - based people smuggler ordered to serve another eleven and a half months in jail

It's after he failed to pay sixty five thousand pounds in compensation

Author: Rosa BownPublished 11th Jul 2024

Romanian mechanic Gheorghe Nica was originally jailed for 27 years in 2021 for the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese nationals, who were found in a vehicle in Essex on October the 22nd of 2019.

The victims, aged between 15 and 44, died in sweltering conditions as they were transported in an airtight container from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet.

The 46-year-old was last year ordered to pay the compensation to the victim's families at the Old Bailey, with the additional jail time imposed at a hearing at Maidstone Magistrates' Court yesterday.

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