Death lorry candidate to be checked’

PAPERWORK for the container in which 39 people were found dead had no details of its origin or final destination when it passed through a Belgian port.

A manifest with the refrigerated container when it arrived at Zeebrugge said it was carrying biscuits. But sections recording where the alleged cargo was picked up and bound for were left blank, said the Belgian prosecutor’s office.

Last night a border security expert said the lack of information about the alleged load, coupled with the type of haulier involved, should have been a “red flag” making it a likely candidate for inspection at Zeebrugge.

Trafficking

There is no customs requirement for paperwork showing origins and destinations for loads travelling between EU countries, but most ferry companies require details from completed manifests before boarding.

All the 39 migrants, 31 men and eight women found in the lorry in Grays, Essex, are believed to be Vietnamese although none have been formally identified.

Two men from Northern Ireland, driver Maurice Robinson, 25, and Eamonn Harrison, 22, have been charged over the deaths. Police have asked two other men from Northern Ireland, brothers Christopher and Ronan Hughes, to hand themselves in. Three others arrested in connection with the incident – two men aged 38 and 46 and a woman, 48 – have been released on bail.

In Vietnam, police have reportedly arrested two people over trafficking.