Missing paperwork ‘should have raised red flags over migrant container tragedy’
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, the Sunday Express can reveal.
A manifest with the refrigerated container when it arrived at Zeebrugge said it was carrying biscuits.
But sections to record where the cargo was picked up and bound for were both left blank, the Belgian federal public prosecutor’s office confirmed.
Last night a border security expert said lack of information, coupled with the type of haulier, were “red flags” making the container a likely candidate for inspection.
There is no customs requirement for paperwork for loads travelling between EU countries but most ferry companies require details before boarding.
Asked if the lack of detail meant the cargo should have been inspected, a spokesman for the public prosecutor said: “I cannot make suppositions.”
But Ray Batt, director at Unisys, a firm that advises governments on computerised border control and security systems, said: “If [the manifest] has not declared where the destination is, that is a red flag and it should be put on a list and checked, depending on the organisation. Sometimes the documents are not always complete.”
He added: “If you have a driver-owned vehicle that is not part of a recognised company making trips of higher frequency, and a freelancer picking up the container, then guys like these would have a more adverse risk assessment.
“With more adverse information you need to do those checks to spot the anomalies.” A Home Office spokeswoman would not be drawn on whether Border Force should have searched the container upon arrival at Purfleet.
Meanwhile, the government of Vietnam said the deaths were “a humanitarian tragedy” and it is “deeply saddened” to learn victims are all believed to be its citizens.
The bodies of 31 men and eight women, including Anna Bui Thi Nhung, 19, were found in a refrigerated trailer attached to a lorry in an industrial park in Grays, Essex, in the early hours of October 23.
Two men from Northern Ireland have been charged with manslaughter and Essex Police has asked two brothers from the province to hand themselves in.
Two men aged 38 and 46 and a 38-yearold woman have been released on bail.
Vietnamese media reported that police in Ha Tinh province had arrested two people on suspicion of human trafficking.