A 50-year-old man has been jailed for more than 12 years for the manslaughter of 39 men, women and children found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex in October 2019.
The Vietnamese citizens were hidden in an airtight container travelling by ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet.
Marius Draghici was arrested by police in Romania last August and extradited to the UK.
Draghici pleaded guilty to 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration at the Old Bailey last month.
In a televised sentencing at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, Mr Justice Garnham jailed Draghici for 12 years and seven months.
He told the defendant he was an “essential cog” in a conspiracy which made “astonishing profits out of the exploitation of people desperate to get to the UK”.
The judge added that the conditions inside the trailer where the victims died were “unspeakable”, with “people trapped inside the trailer with no ventilation and no way of getting out”.
Pointing to the “pitiful audio recordings” of those trapped inside, he said the victims showed “a growing recognition they were going to die there”.
Four other gang members were jailed in 2021 for between 13 and 27 years for the manslaughter of the 39 migrants.
What's it like for a migrant to cross the channel by boat? – video
The jailed men were ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 46, of Basildon, Essex; haulier boss Ronan Hughes, 43, of Armagh; Maurice Robinson, 28, of Craigavon, who found the bodies; and Eamonn Harrison, 26, of County Down, who had collected the victims on the continent.
The victims – aged between 15 and 44 – had hoped for a better life in Britain when they agreed to pay up to £13,000 ($16,800) a head for a “VIP” smuggling service.
On October 22, 2019, they were crammed into the lorry container to be shipped in pitch black, sweltering conditions.
The 28 men, eight women and three children had desperately tried to raise the alarm, with many leaving messages for loved ones on their mobile phones as they ran out of air before reaching British shores.
One unsent text message by a young woman read: “Maybe going to die in the container. Cannot breathe any more.”
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC told the court that the victims’ last hours “must have entailed unimaginable suffering and anguish”.
Lorry driver Robinson had discovered the bodies in the early hours of October 23 after being messaged by Hughes to “give them air”, but not let them out.
Mr Emlyn Jones said gang members “immediately abandoned the plan and melted away in the night”, with Draghici following Nica on a flight from Luton to Romania.
Setting out Draghici’s involvement, Mr Emlyn Jones said: “The prosecution case is that Draghici became party to a sophisticated, long-running and highly profitable conspiracy to smuggle illegal migrants to the United Kingdom, in the back of lorries, in a deliberate and intentional breach of border control.”
Draghici was recruited by fellow Romanian Nica and became his effective “right-hand man” and they were “inseparable”, the prosecutor said.
The defendant had accepted being involved in the last three people smuggling runs, including the fatal trip – although police identified a total of seven.
He was present at a meeting at a hotel on October 19 2019 in which Nica delivered a “very substantial payment” to Hughes after collecting the money from “Fong” – the Vietnamese organiser.
He was also in contact with a person who had been described as “Hughes’ man on the continent”.
Mr Emlyn Jones said it was significant that Nica and Draghici both gave Robinson his instructions earlier on the night of the tragic journey.
“We accept that the role played in the conspiracy by Nica was more significant than that of Draghici. So Nica is above Draghici in the pecking order,” the prosecutor said.
But he said of Draghici: “He was not just acting as a driver but playing the role of something of a right-hand man to Mr Nica.”
In victim impact statements read in court, some victims’ families described feeling “sad and hopeless” over their loss while coping with devastating debt from borrowing thousands of pounds to pay for their loved ones’ travel.
Nguyen Huy Hung, 15, one of the youngest victims, had been on his way to live with his parents in the UK and hoped to work as a hairdresser.
His father said they were “very shocked” and “trembling” after hearing what happened on social media.
“We did not believe it was the truth until we saw his body with our own eyes … We felt numb and that feeling lasted for many weeks later,” he said.
Married couple Tran Hai Loc and Nguyen Thi Van, both 35, were found lying side by side in the container.
The court heard they had paid $7,000 to travel to Hungary to work as fruit pickers and told their families on October 18, 2019, that their plans had changed.
In mitigation, Gillian Jones KC said Draghici was “shocked and horrified with what occurred” and had struggled to come to terms with the enormity of it.
Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe, who led the Essex Police investigation, said: “For more than three years, we have never lost sight of the far-reaching impact the events of October 2019 has had, both here in Essex and, most acutely, in Vietnam.
“Each of the people inside the lorry container were mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. They have family who feel their loss acutely each and every day.
“Today is a significant day. Draghici knew the evidence that we were able to present was overwhelming. He had no option but to admit his involvement.
“Draghici left the UK after October 23 2019 and remained hidden in Europe until August 2022. We have always maintained that the actions we believed he was responsible for could never go unpunished.”
Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Hooper, who oversaw the investigation, said: “In October 2019, we made a promise to the families of our 39 victims that we would deliver justice. We have never lost sight of that promise and the investigation team members have ensured that we have kept that promise.
“We have been committed to tracking down every person we know to have been involved. Unfortunately for Draghici, he could not stay hidden, and he is now facing the consequences of his actions.”
National Crime Agency (NCA) deputy director international Tom Dowdall added: “Marius Draghici and his criminal associates were responsible for the deaths of 39 men, women and children in horrific circumstances.
“It was an appalling example of just how callous people-smuggling gangs are, who are prepared to risk the lives of those they transport for financial gain.
“NCA officers in the UK and overseas worked closely with Essex Police and our international partners to ensure Draghici was tracked down in Romania and brought back to the UK to face justice.”
Russell Tyner, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “It is devastating that 39 people who put their trust in an unscrupulous network of people smugglers have lost their lives because of the traffickers’ sheer greed and recklessness.
“Draghici sought to evade the law by fleeing the country. Thanks to the continued hard work of prosecutors in our Extradition and International Units, Draghici was successfully extradited to the UK to face the charges against him and has today been brought to justice.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
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When Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi
Known as The Lady of Arabic Song, Umm Kulthum performed in Abu Dhabi on November 28, 1971, as part of celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the accession of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan as Ruler of Abu Dhabi. A concert hall was constructed for the event on land that is now Al Nahyan Stadium, behind Al Wahda Mall. The audience were treated to many of Kulthum's most well-known songs as part of the sold-out show, including Aghadan Alqak and Enta Omri.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Etihad flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, with fares starting from Dh2,807 return. Frequent high speed trains between Zurich and Vienna make stops at St. Anton.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
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Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
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Family: She is the youngest of seven siblings
Time in the UAE: 10 years
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Infiniti QX80 specs
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Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
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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.
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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
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Who has been sanctioned?
Daniella Weiss and Nachala
Described as 'the grandmother of the settler movement', she has encouraged the expansion of settlements for decades. The 79 year old leads radical settler movement Nachala, whose aim is for Israel to annex Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where it helps settlers built outposts.
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Libi has been involved in threatening and perpetuating acts of aggression and violence against Palestinians. His firm has provided logistical and financial support for the establishment of illegal outposts.
Zohar Sabah
Runs a settler outpost named Zohar’s Farm and has previously faced charges of violence against Palestinians. He was indicted by Israel’s State Attorney’s Office in September for allegedly participating in a violent attack against Palestinians and activists in the West Bank village of Muarrajat.
Coco’s Farm and Neria’s Farm
These are illegal outposts in the West Bank, which are at the vanguard of the settler movement. According to the UK, they are associated with people who have been involved in enabling, inciting, promoting or providing support for activities that amount to “serious abuse”.
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Results
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7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Cliffs Of Capri, Tadhg O’Shea, Jamie Osborne.
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
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Company%20Profile
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