Ringleader of Essex lorry trafficking group sentenced to 15 years in jail
Temperatures in the back of the lorry reached over 38 degrees
The ringleader of a human trafficking group responsible for the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants has been sentenced to 15 years in jail.
Eight women and 31 men were found dead in the back of a lorry in an industrial estate near Grays in October 2019.
The migrants were stored in the back of the lorry with little ventilation, meaning temperatures inside the truck could reach an unbearable 38 degrees Celsius.
In addition, the lorry had a refrigeration system in the container that had been switched off when the migrants got into the truck.
After arriving in the UK from Zeebrugge in Belgium, customs officers discovered the suffocated bodies of the migrants, some of whom were as young as 15 years old.
In a court in Belgium, 45-year-old Vo Van Hong was handed a jail term of fifteen years, meaning he will remain in prison until 2037.
The man, also originally from Vietnam, was part of over 18 people who were sentenced for their roles in the tragedy.
Others who played a part in the trafficking were sentenced to jail terms of between one and ten years. Five of the accused were found not guilty.
This is not the first time people involved in the case had been sentenced for their role in what happened in Grays.
In a high-profile trial in 2020, the driver of the lorry Eamonn Harrison was found guilty on 39 charges of manslaughter, alongside organiser Gheorghe Nica - originally from Romania.