Lorry driver admits 39 manslaughter counts
A driver of a lorry in which the bodies of 39 Vietnamese migrants were found has pleaded guilty to their manslaughter. Maurice Robinson, 25, was arrested at an industrial estate in Essex last October following the grim discovery. Among the 31 males and eight females who perished in the back of the refrigerated truck were 10 teenagers. Robinson initially denied knowledge of the migrants but at a virtual hearing at the Old Bailey, he admitted 39 counts of manslaughter.
A MAN who was driving a lorry in which the bodies of 39 Vietnamese migrants were found has pleaded guilty to their manslaughter.
Maurice Robinson, 25, of Craigavon, Co Armagh, was arrested at an industrial estate in Grays, Essex, last October following the grim find by police.
Among the 31 men and eight women who perished in the back of the refrigerated truck were 10 teenagers, including two 15-year-old boys.
Robinson, who had just arrived in the UK on a ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium, initially denied knowledge of migrants in the back of the lorry.
But at a virtual hearing at the Old Bailey yesterday in front of Mr Justice Sweeney, he admitted 39 counts of manslaughter.
Robinson, who appeared alongside four other alleged co-conspirators, had previously admitted conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and acquiring criminal property.
He denied a further charge of transferring criminal property. He will be sentenced at a later date.
The victims were all traced to five rural provinces in Vietnam and were allegedly trafficked to Europe after paying an international gang.
Robinson, who is known as “Big Mo” to friends and colleagues, was arrested in the early hours of Oct 24 last year on an industrial estate in Grays. There were initial reports that it was him who called the emergency services after stopping and realising there were bodies inside the refrigerated trailer.
At the time, associates expressed their complete shock at his alleged role in the conspiracy.
A proud Rangers football fan, Robinson was well known among hauliers in Northern Ireland and Scotland.
He travelled widely throughout Europe, making regular visits to Sweden, Denmark and Germany.
Following his arrest, it emerged that the container in which the bodies were found had been collected in Zeebrugge earlier that day and taken to Essex on board a haulage ferry that docked at Purfleet in Essex. The truck was then driven five miles to Grays where the bodies were discovered when Robinson pulled over at an industrial estate.
Robinson appeared at court via video link alongside four other co-defendants.
Gheorghe Nica, 43, a British Romanian from Langdon Hills, Essex, denied 39 counts of manslaughter.
He also denied one count of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration between May 1 2018 and Oct 24 2019.
Alexandru-ovidiu Hanga, 27, a Romanian from Tilbury, denied a charge of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
Christopher Kennedy, 23, from Darkley, Co Armagh, has previously denied conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration
Valentin Calota, 37, from Birmingham, was not asked to enter a plea to the charge of conspiring to assist unlawful immigration.
William Emlyn Jones QC, prosecuting, said a human trafficking conspiracy charge was being dropped in relation to Kennedy and Robinson.
He asked for three weeks to decide whether to proceed with a trial against Robinson on the outstanding charge he faced. The other defendants face a trial at the Old Bailey lasting up to eight weeks from Oct 5. The hearing was conducted virtually with most lawyers and reporters attending by Skype.