Seven arrested in Vietnam in Essex lorry case
Five men and two women have been detained by police in Vietnam for human trafficking in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants whose bodies were found in Essex, the United Kingdom, in October last year.
Police in Vietnam's Ha Tinh Province said the seven individuals, one of whom is originally from China, were charged with "organising or broking others to flee abroad or stay abroad illegally."
Post-mortem examinations on the victims, who were found on a lorry in Essex, listed the provisional causes of death as a combination of hypoxia and hyperthermia, Essex Police said at the time.
Essex Police also said an investigative team of 12, comprising police officers and staff, had travelled to south-east Asia to look into the deaths.
Specialists from the National Crime Agency and Vietnamese officers will be joining them for their visits.
Several people, including the lorry driver, Maurice Robinson, of Craigavon, County Armagh, have been arrested in connection with the deaths and involvement in an alleged people-trafficking ring.
At the Old Bailey in November, Robinson admitted conspiring to assist illegal immigration and acquiring criminal property, the BBC reported.
He has not yet entered pleas to the 39 counts of manslaughter or charges of conspiracy to commit human trafficking and transferring criminal property.
Three other men are accused by the police in the UK in relation to the deaths.
- Eamonn Harrison, 23, of Mayobridge, County Down, is facing 39 charges of manslaughter as well as charges of conspiracy to traffic people and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. Earlier this month at the High Court in Dublin, he won the right to appeal against his extradition from Ireland to the UK.
- Christopher Kennedy, 23, from Darkley, County Armagh, denies conspiracy to commit human trafficking offences, assisting unlawful immigration and arranging to facilitate the travel of other people with a view to exploitation.
- Gheorghe Nica, 43, of Mimosa Close in Langdon Hills, Essex, faces 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. He is due to appear at the Old Bailey on 16 March.
Rights groups urge UK prime minister to hold back on anti-migrant rhetoric
Report: Most Britons ignorant about scale of UK slavery
London’s Heathrow announces shutdown due to ‘significant power outage’
Iran petroleum minister in Iraq to discuss enhanced energy cooperation
Iran: US talks focus on lifting ‘cruel sanctions’; no direct engagement amid threat, pressure
VIDEO | Nanostrike: Yttrium-90 and the fight against cancer
VIDEO | Iran-US indirect talks
VIDEO | An Insider's View of Iran: Kahak Village and Tehran Churches
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
Israel blocks 50,000 Palestinians from entering al-Quds on Christian feast day
VIDEO | An Insider's View of Iran: Qolaman County in Zabol and Local Games in Aras
PressTV NEWSLETTER
now
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
