Haulier appears in court over deaths of Vietnamese migrants

AN Irish haulier has appeared in court charged with the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese migrants who were found dead inside a lorry container in Essex.

Ronan Hughes, 40, who was extradited to the UK from Ireland, appeared before Southend Magistrates’ Court by videolink from a police station yesterday.

The defendant, who gave his address to the British court as Dalton Park, Armagh, Co. Armagh, is charged with 39 counts of manslaughter between October 22 and 24 last year.

He is also charged with one count of facilitating the illegal entry of people into the UK between May 1, 2018, and October 24, 2019.

Prosecutors say Mr Hughes operated a road haulage business and that his trailers and drivers were used to transport migrants. They also allege he played a leading role.

Mr Hughes spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth, address and to state his nationality as Irish. He was not asked to enter pleas.

He remained seated throughout and no application for bail was made.

Judge Timothy King remanded him in custody to appear at London’s Old Bailey on July 22 for a plea hearing.

During the 11-minute hearing, the judge read out the names of the 39 Vietnamese nationals who died.

The High Court in Dublin ruled earlier this month that Mr Hughes could be extradited to face charges over the deaths. The bodies of the Vietnamese nationals were found at an industrial estate in Grays, Essex, southeast England, shortly after the container arrived on a ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium in the early hours of October 23 last.

The lorry’s driver, Maurice Robinson, 25, admitted 39 counts of manslaughter at the Old Bailey in April after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

Robinson, of Craigavon in Co. Armagh, also admitted acquiring criminal property, but denied a charge of transferring criminal property.