Lorry horror: Driver ‘was in global ring of people smugglers’

A LORRY driver accused of killing 39 migrants found dead in his trailer is in a ‘global ring’ of people smugglers, a court heard.

Maurice ‘ Mo’ Robinson, 25, was arrested shortly after the bodies of 31 men and eight women were found i n the refrigerated container attached to his lorry in Grays, Essex, last Wednesday.

Robinson, from Craigavon in Northern Ireland, appeared yesterday at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to commit a human trafficking offence, conspiracy to commit unlawful immigration, acquiring criminal property and concealing criminal property, namely cash. Appearing via video-link, he spoke only to confirm his identity, address and British nationality.

Iguyovwe Oghenerouna, prosecuting, said: ‘He has been involved in a global ring which has facilitated a large number of illegal immigrants into the UK.’ Robinson will appear at the Old Bailey for a plea hearing on November 25. There was no application made for bail.

Separately, efforts are continuing to identify the other driver who delivered the trailer and its human cargo to Zeebrugge in Belgium the day before. That driver is alleged to have told port officials he was carrying a load of cookies, which was why the refrigeration unit was not s witched on, Belgian media reported yesterday. The migrants are now believed to have suffocated rather than frozen to death.

On Saturday, Northern Irish lorry driver, Eamon Harrison, 23, was arrested at Dublin port and his Scania cab impounded by police. He was held on an unrelated allegation but Essex police confirmed Harrison is ‘a person of interest’ in the lorry murder investigation.

He is due to appear in court in the Republic of Ireland tomorrow accused of alleged assault and criminal damage over an incident in Germany.

Separately, it emerged that an Irish haulage boss hired the trailer a week before the doomed migrants used it to try to cross from Belgium. He drove the trailer away from the Global Trailer Rentals depot in County Monaghan on October 15 after signing a lease to pay £238 (275 euros) a week, sources said.

The boss is also understood to own the blue, Bulgarian-registered Scania truck which was impounded by Irish police after it was driven from France by Harrison.