A 50-year-old Romanian man accused of being a key figure in a people-smuggling syndicate, pleaded guilty on Friday to the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants, including two 15-year-old boys.
Marius Mihai Draghici was detained by Romanian police in August last year and later charged by British prosecutors with 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
The victims were found suffocated inside a lorry's sealed container at a port near London, in October 2019.
They had paid up to £13,000 ($16,500) each in hopes of being transported to a better life in the UK via what was described as a “VIP” smuggling service.
The incident brought renewed focus on the desperate lengths migrants will go to reach Britain, and the illicit gangs profiting from their vulnerability.
The charges were pleaded to at London's Old Bailey court, and sentencing is set to be determined at a later date.
While in the stifling, pitch-black container, the migrants tried to raise the alarm as the air supply ran out before reaching the UK.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC noted Draghici's guilty pleas, stating that he was “disinclined to accept there was no financial reward” for Draghici's involvement, although he could not pinpoint any specific money transfer.
Several others were convicted and sentenced in 2021, in connection with the disaster.
Two smugglers and two lorry drivers received sentences ranging from 13 to 27 years.
Four other men in the UK were jailed for conspiring to enable unlawful immigration, and another received a 10-month term for his limited involvement.
Belgium also convicted 19 individuals tied to the smuggling ring, including ringleader Vo Van Hong, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The smuggling operations, described by Justice Sweeney as a “sophisticated, long-running, and profitable” conspiracy, were found to span from May 2018 to October 2019, with seven identified trips and possibly more.
Families of the victims in Vietnam and Britain expressed their profound loss, at the sentencing hearing.
The heartbreaking stories included Phan Thi Thanh, 41, who had sold her family home and left her son with a godmother before embarking on the fatal journey.
Her son, hearing of the incident via media, contacted his father in the UK to confirm his mother's death.
He described himself as “very shocked, very sad and … crying a lot.”
The fatal smuggling operation was only halted after the tragic journey that claimed 39 lives.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
The specs: 2018 Mercedes-AMG C63 S Cabriolet
Price, base: Dh429,090
Engine 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission Seven-speed automatic
Power 510hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 700Nm @ 1,750rpm
Fuel economy, combined 9.2L / 100km
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 2
Suarez (10'), Messi (52')
Real Madrid 2
Ronaldo (14'), Bale (72')
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Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20WATCH%20SERIES%208
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Squads
India: Kohli (c), Rahul, Shaw, Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Vihari, Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Shami, Umesh, Siraj, Thakur
West Indies: Holder (c), Ambris, Bishoo, Brathwaite, Chase, Dowrich (wk), Gabriel, Hamilton, Hetmyer, Hope, Lewis, Paul, Powell, Roach, Warrican, Joseph
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends