Crazy about his truck, the driver, 25, in murder quiz
‘Remained in custody’
THE haulier arrested after 39 bodies were discovered in the back of his truck is a father-to-be who has been driving lorries across Europe for at least five years.
Maurice ‘Mo’ Robinson, 25, has a Facebook page littered with pictures of his Scania truck, accompanied by proud comments about the distinctive red cab he acquired at the start of the year. He is dating a hairdresser, who is said to be expecting twins.
It is thought that Robinson picked up the refrigerated container two hours before the tragic discovery at an Essex industrial estate in the early hours of yesterday.
It is not known whether he knew what was inside the container. He was arrested on suspicion of murder and remained in custody last night. He does
not own the left-hand drive lorry, which is registered in Bulgaria by a company owned by an Irish woman.
Robinson, who lives in a £300,000 home near Gilford in County Armagh, attended South Regional College in Portadown.
His father, Mark Robinson, is the manager of Laurelvale FC, an amateur football club. He refused to comment when contacted by the Daily Mail last night.
Another relative told the Belfast Telegraph they had not heard from Robinson and did not know what was going on.
DUP councillor Paul Berry said Robinson’s parents had not been informed by police that he was under arrest.
‘I’ve spoken to the family a couple of times,’ he said.
‘At this stage they haven’t been informed of anything and the police don’t have to in these circumstances. Obviously they are very distraught. They are just waiting for news. They just don’t know.
‘They contacted police themselves but a sergeant said he couldn’t tell them anything. It does seem unfair. The family at least should know that he has been arrested.’
Robinson’s social media pages contain several pictures of lorries he has driven since he started trucking.
His Facebook and Instagram pages contain images of what appears to be the same cab as the one at the centre of the yesterday’s tragedy.
It has an identical ‘The Ultimate Dream’ sticker on the windscreen, with Robinson branding it ‘The Polar Express’.
Mr Robinson wears a cowboy hat as he poses for a selfie at the wheel of his truck.
Friends on the social media site jokingly compare him to Woody, the cowboy character from the Toy Story films. One comments: ‘Where’s Buzz Lightyear lol!’
He has also used the tags ‘irishfridgemen’ and ‘cowboy club’ while posting on the Instagram picture site.
Robinson is believed to have travelled from his home via a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead in North Wales on Saturday.
Investigators believe he drove down to pick up the refrigerated container, which arrived at Purfleet in Essex from Zeebrugge in Belgium at around 12.30am on Wednesday.
The lorry and trailer left the port shortly after 1.05am.
Officers were called around 30 minutes later after ambulance staff made the grim discovery at Waterglade Industrial Park in Eastern Avenue in nearby Grays.