Man jailed over deaths of 39 migrants

1. Marius Mihai Draghici is jailed for 12 years and seven months for his role in the killing of 39 people found in Essex
2. The 39 Vietnamese nationals suffocated in a lorry container found in Grays in 2019
3. Draghici, a Romanian national, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last month
4. The judge at the Old Bailey talked of the "very significant mental and physical suffering" of the victims

Marius Draghici jailed for more than 12 years

BBC

Our live coverage of the sentencing of Marius Draghici has now ended.

Read more on the case here.

Police proud to have delivered justice for families

BBC

The ferry crossed the North Sea from Zeebrugge to Purfleet

Det Ch Supt Stuart Hooper, who oversaw the Essex Police investigation, said officers never lost sight of their promise to the grieving families in Vietnam.

He said: "In October 2019, we made a promise to the families of our 39 victims that we would deliver justice.

"The investigation team members have ensured that we have kept that promise.

"This has never been about being triumphant; this has always been about delivering justice for 39 families who had their worlds ripped apart in October 2019, and I’m proud of the role Essex Police has played in that.”

The police involved in the case

Essex Police

More than 1,300 Essex Police officers have been involved in the lorry deaths case.

PC Jack Emerson was one of the first at the scene following the deaths.

He described how he desperately searched for "signs of life" such as a pulse or a breath. He found none.

"I could visibly see numerous half-naked bodies in the back of the trailer, lying on the trailer floor motionless," he said previously.

The bodies were packed so tightly together, he said, that he could only check "the bodies I could reach".

Post-mortem examinations found they died of overheating and a lack of oxygen.

Overwhelming evidence Draghici deeply involved - police

Det Ch Insp Louise Metcalfe, who has 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."

She said it was a "significant" day and that due to "overwhelming" evidence Draghici had no option but to admit his involvement.

Draghici sentenced to 12 years and seven months for role in 39 migrant deaths

Draghici has been sentenced to 12 years and seven months for manslaughter.

Draghici, who admitted 39 counts of manslaughter, was also sentenced to four years and two months for conspiring in immigration offences.

"This was suffering of the most serious kind," Mr Justice Garnham said. "And it involved men, women and children."

The 39 people died from a combination of asphyxia, carbon dioxide poisoning and hyperthermia.

The judge said the fact Draghici had fled the UK was an aggravating factor in the case, although he acknowledged the killer felt "genuine remorse".

Victims had 'suffering of the most serious kind'

Jeremy Britton

BBC News, Old Bailey

Mr Justice Garnham said the aggravating features of Draghici's conduct included the "very significant" mental and physical suffering caused to the migrants, which he described as "suffering of the most serious kind".

'Small but essential cog'

"Draghici was a small but essential cog in the wheels of this criminal conspiracy", Mr Justice Garnham said.

He said the defendant's role "was limited" but still significant.

Draghici's role was "operational" and not managerial, he said.

However the judge said Draghici would have become aware of the extent of the operation and still continued to be involved in the criminality.

Statements of families and friends 'heart breaking'

Mr Justice Garnham said he had read through the statements of family and friends of the 39 Vietnamese nationals who perished.

"They are heart-wrenching," he said.

Migrants had 'growing recognition they were going to die'

The judge said he was played the "pitiful audio recordings" from the phones of the migrants trapped inside the trailed.

They were reporting an "inability to breathe" and had a "growing recognition they were going to die there", Mr Justice Garnham said.

'Conditions must have been unspeakable'

BBC

Mr Justice Garnham described the conditions inside the trailer at the time of the deaths.

He described how the temperatures steadily rose inside in the sealed trailer.

"Conditions inside must have been unspeakable," he said. "Those people were trapped inside the trailer with no ventilation and no way of getting out.

"Nobody outside the conspiracy knew they were there."

Fees totalling in excess £600k

Mr Justice Garnham is continuing to delivering the sentence.

He says that he has been told that in the two or three weeks Draghici was involved in the people smuggling ring the fees paid totalled "in excess of £600,000".

You can watch the judge's remarks live by clicking on the video link at the top of this page.

'Astonishing profits from the exploitation of people'

Mr Justice Neil Garnham has returned to the courtroom at the Old Bailey and started sentencing.

Addressing Marius Draghici, he said: "You became involved in conspiracy to smuggle migrants to the UK."

He said the organised crime group he was involved with made "astonishing profits from the exploitation of people".

Recap: The sentencing of Marius Mihai Draghici

PA News

The Old Bailey, as London's Central Criminal Court is commonly known

As we wait for the court to resume, here's a brief recap of what we've heard so far.

Draghici has accepted being involved in the following specific events of people-smuggling:

• On 11 October 2019, when 15 migrants were said by a witness to have been smuggled
• On 18 October 2019, when another witness, Marie Andrews, said she saw migrants being unloaded
• On 23 October 2019, when 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in a the trailer in Essex, being driven by Maurice Robinson

Opening the facts of the case, prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC said the victims had suffocated in an air tight container en route across the Channel.

"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," he said.

Victim impact statements from the relatives of some of the victims were read out in court.

Defence barrister Gillian Jones KC told the court her client did not play a managerial or leading role in the deaths.

"He carried out an operational role under direction," she said.

The court rises for a 30-minute break

Having heard from both the prosecution and the defence, the judge, Mr Justice Garnham, has risen to consider what sentence he should pass on Draghici.

He is due to return to court to pass sentence at about 16:30.

There will be a live camera feed of his remarks and sentencing.

Defendant was 'too afraid' to return to UK

Jeremy Britton

BBC News, Old Bailey

Defence barrister Gillian Jones KC has started mitigating on behalf of Draghici.

She claims that her client did not play a managerial or leading role in the deaths.

"He carried out an operational role under direction," she has told the court.

He had not been involved in the planning or organisation of the conspiracy and had not benefitted directly from his involvement, she said.

Regarding her client fleeing the country, she says Draghici was "terrified" after he found out what had happened as he had "never contemplated" any harm would be caused to any of the migrants.

"He was too afraid to return" and was "shocked and horrified by what occurred", Ms Jones tells the court.

Victims' family statements read out in court

Jeremy Britton

BBC News, Old Bailey

Victim impact statements from the relatives of some of the victims have been read out in court.

Nguyen Huy Hung was just 15, and his older brother said the family found out about his death through social media.

The victim had trained as a hairdresser and paid a fee of £12,000 to travel from France to the UK.

The family were "very shocked" and "trembled" at the news of his death.

PA Media

Nguyen Huy Phong and Bui Phan Thang (l-r)

Nguyen Huy Phong was 35 when he travelled to England with the hope of working as a bricklayer.

His widow said the family were very said. He had been the family's main breadwinner and it would be very hard for his wife to earn money.

Bui Phan Thang was 37 and his wife said he had borrowed money to travel to Germany to work, but then decided to try to go to the UK.

He was a father of three and his wife said it would be very hard for them as they owed more than £15,000.

PA Media

Tran Hai Loc and Nguyen Thi Van (l-r)

Tran Hai Loc and Nguyen Thi Van were married. The 35-year-olds were found lying side by side in the trailer.

The couple had planned to travel to Hungary to work as fruit pickers, but unexpectedly decided to travel to the UK.

Their deaths had made the whole family very sad, the court heard. Their two children were aged four and six at the time.

The children still looked at photos of their parents, the court heard.

The family still owed $14,000 and didn't know how they would repay it. Their lives would be "very difficult", their statement said.

Ten people already in jail for lorry deaths and smuggling ring

Essex Police

(Left to right]) Eamonn Harrison, Ronan Hughes, Gheorghe Nica and Maurice Robinson

Seven men have so far been convicted for offences linked to the people smuggling ring.

Four were jailed in January 2021 for the manslaughter of the 39 Vietnamese migrants and assisting unlawful immigration:

• Ronan Hughes, of County Armagh - jailed for 20 years
• Gheorghe Nica, of Basildon, Essex - jailed for 27 years
• Eamonn Harrison, of Newry, County Down - jailed for 18 years
• Maurice Robinson, of County Armagh - jailed for 13 years and four months

Hughes and Nica were described as "ringleaders" of the smuggling gang.

Harrison towed the trailer to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge before its journey to the UK.

Robinson collected the trailer and opened it at the Grays industrial estate to find the migrants dead.

Essex Police

(Left to right) Valentin Calota, Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga and Christopher Kennedy

Three others members of the organised crime gang were jailed at the same hearing for conspiracy to facilitate unlawful immigration:

• Christopher Kennedy, of County Armagh - jailed for seven years
• Valentin Calota of Birmingham - jailed for four and a half years
• Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga of Tilbury, Essex - jailed for three years

In Belgium, Vietnamese man Vo Van Hong was jailed for 15 years for leading a cross-Channel people trafficking operation based in Belgium.

Two other members of the gang were given lengthy sentences, including Nguyen Long, 46, described as the ringleader's main lieutenant, according to AFP news agency.

Defendant was meant to pick up migrants

Jeremy Britton

BBC News, Old Bailey

Draghici accompanied Gheorghe Nica to Collingwood Farm before the bodies were found in order to pick up the migrants in the trailer, the prosecution has told the sentencing hearing.

After the trailer driver Maurice Robinson reported the deaths to emergency services, police arrived and found that the occupants had all died.

Draghici then fled the country, flying to Romania the next day, the court has been told.

He later stated he was unaware of the number of individuals involved or the specific arrangements.

However, the prosecution say the organisers must have been aware it was a "significant" number because they were making money - and it would have been in their interests to know how many there were.

Watch the handing down of sentence live

BBC

After the prosecution and defence submissions, the judge Mr Justice Garnham will begin his sentencing remarks, which will be on camera from the Old Bailey.

To watch the live stream, click on the ▶️ play button in the header of this page.

Recordings of victims last messages to be played in court

Jeremy Britton

BBC News, the Old Bailey

The 39 victims included 28 men, eight women and three children.

The youngest victim was just 15 years old and the eldest was aged 44.

The prosecutor said there were desperate attempts by the migrants to raise the alarm as the temperature rose inside the trailer.

PA Media

One of the migrants had called the number 113 on his mobile phone - the emergency number in Vietnam.

A pole the migrants found inside the trailer was used to try to "bash their way out", the court heard.

A message from one migrants was read out in court. It said: "I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I am sorry I have to go now."

The judge asked for some of the recordings made by the migrants while in the trailer to be played in court.