Following the discovery of 39 bodies in a truck in Essex, UK, the authorities have now filed charges against the driver of the truck. He is accused of negligent homicide in 39 cases. The man had been arrested immediately after the body finding on Wednesday – at that time still under suspicion of murder.
The 25-year-old Nordire also has to answer for trafficking, illegal immigration and money laundering lawsuits. The police said in the British county of Essex on Saturday. In addition to the driver, three other people were arrested in direct connection with the crime.
In Ireland, a fifth man has been arrested and may be linked to the crime. Although the man was wanted for another alleged offense, the Essex police have expressed interest in questioning him, the Irish police said in Dublin.
It is now clear that the tractor had come from Ireland to the UK. The semi-trailer, in which the 39 dead were found, however, was shipped from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge in the English Purfeet. From there, the tractor then transported him to an industrial area in Grays, east of London. When and where the people came in the truck, but remains unclear – as well as the cause of death. People may be frozen because the large truck semi-trailer is suitable for cooling. Initially, the cause of death was not officially confirmed.
Police suspect Vietnam as a country of origin
With regard to the identity of the dead, the British police are now concentrating on the country of origin Vietnam. „I’m focusing on the Vietnamese community right now,“ said Martin Passmore, who is responsible for identifying the victims at the Essex Police. However, other countries of origin could not yet be ruled out. The police had first stated that the killed were Chinese.
According to the police, it is a problem that relatives of the victims themselves may be living illegally in the UK and are afraid to report to the police. Passmore therefore pledged that his agency would not prosecute anyone who contacted the police in this case. In the past few days, relatives have addressed some shocking accounts to British media.
Terrifying reports
For example, the BBC showed pictures of text messages with which one of the potential victims was in contact with his family only hours before the cadaver. A Vietnamese family confirmed to the BBC according to their reports that they had paid 30,000 pounds (34,720 euros) for hauling a young woman. „I’m very, very sorry,“ she wrote to her parents, reported the BBC, citing statements of a man who introduced himself as a brother of the woman. „My sister has been missing since October 23,“ the man said. She wrote: „I’m dying, I can not breathe.“
Later also reported to the AFP, a Vietnamese, who suspected a relative among the victims. The news agency Reuters reported that possibly even the majority of the dead could have come from Vietnam. Reuters relied on information provided by a community leader from Nghe An Province in the northeast of the country.
„The whole district mourns,“ Catholic priest Anthony Dang Huu Nam from the remote village of Yen Thanh was quoted as saying. The priest said he was in contact with relatives of the dead. They had told him that relatives wanted to go to Britain at the time in question and that they now tried in vain to contact them.
Identification „long but decisive part“
Experts expect very long investigations. The formal identification will follow the autopsies, according to the police. „This will be a long but crucial part of this investigation,“ it said. The case evokes memories of those 71 dead refugees who were found smothered in a refrigerated lorry on the eastern motorway near Parndorf in Burgenland in August 2015. At that time it took several months until 69 of the 71 people could be identified. The biggest tragedy of illegal migration in Britain to date has seen the bodies of 58 Chinese immigrants in a Dover truck in 2000.
