Seven charged in Vietnam in connection to Essex lorry deaths

POLICE in Vietnam’s Ha Tinh province have launched criminal proceedings against seven people for human trafficking in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese in a lorry in the UK last year.

Seven people, two women and five men faced allegations of organising illegal emigration or illegal stays in foreign countries, the police said.

They included Nguyen Thi Thuy Hoa, 36, from Nghe An province, Tran Dinh Truong, 35, from Ha Tinh, Nguyen Quoc Thanh, 35, from Can Tho city and his sister Nguyen Thi Thuy Diem, 30, who was living in Ruian city, Zhejiang province, China.

The four were part of a ring that attempted to smuggle 26-year-old Pham Thi Tra My from her hometown Nghen township in Ha Tinh’s Can Loc district to the UK, but failed tragically.

My’s final message to her family as she died in the lorry was the first vital clue for the

UK police to identify the victims in the case.

Others under investigation are Vo Van Ky, 58, Vo Van Ho, 68 and Le Van Hue, 53, all from Nghe An, who ran separate human smuggling rings.

The seven were said to have smuggled a total of 67 Vietnamese from Hai Phong, Hai Duong, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Tay Ninh to European countries.

According to the preliminary investigation, Truong received a request from a Vietnamese citizen in the UK late in August, asking him to take My to France for $22,000.

The man then contacted Hoa who was known to have smuggled many immigrants to Europe to make the necessary arrangements for My’s journey.

My’s documents were sent to Thanh in Can Tho the following month, who acquired a tourist visa to China for the young woman.

My departed for China on

October 4 and stayed at a place prepared by Thanh’s sister, Diem. My then continued to France but died during the final leg of the journey to the UK.

Meanwhile, Thanh received full payment of $22,000 from My’s family as soon as she arrived in France.

All but Diem were arrested by police. Ha Tinh police requested the Ministry of Public Security to ask Interpol to issue a worldwide red wanted notice for Diem.

British police on October 23 last year discovered the bodies of 31 men and 8 women in the trailer of an articulated refrigerator lorry in Grays, Essex, northeast of London.

The alleged illegal migrants were confirmed as Vietnamese nationals on November 8, among whom 21 came from Nghe An. Another 10 were from Ha Tinh, three each from Hai Phong and Quang Binh while Thua Thien-Hue and Hai Duong each had one victim.