Cops discover 39 corpses in truck

INVESTIGATION: 25-YEAR-OLD DRIVER HELD IN CUSTODY

Britain launched a major murder investigation after 39 dead bodies were found yesterday in a refrigerated truck, once again putting the spotlight on the shadowy people trafficking business.

The corpses were found in a truck container at an industrial park in Grays, east of London, triggering outrage among politicians.

The local Essex Police force, which is working with immigration officials, said their initial priority was to try to identify the victims, thought at this stage to be 38 adults and one teenager.

The truck’s driver, a 25-yearold man from Northern Ireland, has been arrested on suspicion of murder and remained in custody, the force added.

“This is an unimaginable tragedy and truly heart-breaking,”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

He added that the perpetrators of people smuggling, trading in human lives, “should be hunted down and brought to justice”.

Police were called to the scene at the Waterglade Industrial Park at around 1.40am.

Officers in white forensic suits could be seen working by the truck and a white tent was erected outside through the day.

They later moved the vehicle to a “secure location... so the bodies can be recovered while preserving the dignity of the victims”, deputy chief constable Pippa Mills told reporters.

“It’s absolutely imperative that the operation is conducted with the utmost respect for the 39 people who’ve lost their lives,” she said, adding “this will be a lengthy enquiry”.

Police revealed that the vehicle’s storage trailer section had come by ferry from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge into Purfleet, close to Grays on the River Thames estuary – a crossing that takes nine to 12 hours. Authorities in Belgium said they had launched their own probe.

Essex police added the ferry docked at 12.30am, and the truck then left the port area around half an hour later.

They said the “tractor unit of the lorry” – which drives the vehicle – is believed to have originated in Northern Ireland.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov said the lorry was registered in his country in 2017 by an Irish citizen, and had not entered Bulgarian territory since. –

This is an unimaginable tragedy... heart-breaking