Essex lorry deaths: Men jailed for killing 39 migrants lose appeal bid

The bodies of 39 Vietnamese nationals were discovered in a sealed refrigerated trailer on 23 October 2019

Two men convicted of the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants found dead in a lorry trailer have lost their bids to bring Court of Appeal challenges.

The men, women and children suffocated en route from Zeebrugge to Purfleet, Essex, in October 2019.

Ronan Hughes and Gheorghe Nica played "leading roles" in the smuggling conspiracy and were jailed for 20 and 27 years respectively in January.

Three senior judges at the Court of Appeal dismissed their cases.

Hughes, 42, of County Armagh, asked to challenge his 20-year prison sentence, while Nica, 44, of Basildon, Essex, made a bid for permission to appeal against his conviction.

Ronan Hughes (left) meeting Gheorghe Nica at a budget hotel

During their sentencing earlier this year, the Old Bailey heard that migrants would board lorries at a remote location on the continent to be transported to Britain, where they would be picked up by a fleet of smaller vehicles organised by Nica for transfer to a safe house until payment was received.

Aftab Jafferjee QC, for Nica, said the trial jury was wrongly directed on the importance of the number of migrants that had been smuggled and how much Nica knew about the numbers.

Mr Jafferjee said the number of migrants on the fatal journey was "completely out of kilter with the recent three trips" carried out by the group, which involved between 15 and 20 people.

Tim Moloney QC, for Hughes, said the haulier's sentence was disproportionally increased compared with his co-defendants.

Thirty-nine people died in the back of a trailer which crossed the North Sea between Zeebrugge and the Thames estuary

Dame Victoria Sharp, sitting with Mrs Justice Cutts and Sir Nigel Davis, denied both men permission to bring their appeals.

She said the jury was entitled to consider multiple factors when deciding its verdicts, including whether there was an obvious risk of harm to the migrants.

"We are satisfied that Nica's conviction is safe," Dame Victoria concluded.

Dame Victoria said the temperature inside the trailer rose to around 40C (104F) while the levels of oxygen decreased, leading to the 39 deaths by suffocation and hyperthermia.

At their sentencing, the judge said the victims made "desperate attempts" to contact the outside world as they suffocated.

They used a metal pole to try to punch through the roof but only managed to dent the interior.

The judge said the 39 victims had an "excruciatingly painful death".

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