Essex lorry deaths: Smuggler to pay £6,000 to victims' families

Haulier Christopher Kennedy captured by CCTV in the cab of his lorry

A lorry driver who was part of a people smuggling ring has been ordered to pay £6,000 to the families of 39 Vietnamese people who died in a failed smuggling operation.

The victims, aged between 15 and 44, were found dead in a trailer in Essex in October 2019.

They had suffocated on their way to Purfleet from Belgium on a ferry.

Christopher Kennedy picked up containers with people inside, but not the one in which 39 Vietnamese died.

The 25-year-old from Keady in County Armagh, is serving seven years for his part in the wider operation.

On Wednesday, the Old Bailey heard he had made £67,050.65 from people smuggling but had just £6,094.18 in his Bank of Ireland account.

Judge Mark Lucraft QC ordered that the available money should be confiscated and used as compensation to the families of the victims.

Kennedy, who was sat in the dock, made no reaction during the hearing.

• Irish smuggling connection to Essex lorry deaths

His trial in December 2020 heard he picked up containers in Essex which arrived from Belgium.

His job was to deliver them to a remote location at Orsett, a 20 minute drive from the port.

Twice he did this in the two weeks before the smuggling operation which went wrong on October 23, which is why he was tried with the other drivers involved.

Kennedy was not charged with manslaughter but was instead charged with conspiracy to assist in unlawful immigration.

He denied the charge and claimed he thought he was transporting cigarettes, but a jury found him guilty.