Last gasps of lorry migrants are played in court

A RINGLEADER of the peoplesmuggling ring responsible for the deaths of 39 migrants closed his eyes in the dock as his victims’ final agonising gasps were heard for the first time in court.

Haulier boss Ronan Hughes joined seven other defendants at the Old Bailey to be sentenced for their role in the “sophisticated long running” operation when ended in tragedy on October 23 2019.

The 39 Vietnamese men, women and children had suffocated in sweltering temperatures in a sealed container as they were shipped from Zeebrugge to Purfleet in Essex.

Recordings of some of their final desperate phone messages were played in court.

In one message, a man spoke with ragged breaths as he apologised to his family.

He said: “I can’t breathe. I want to come back to my family. Have a good life.”

In the background, a voice could be heard pleading: “Come on everyone. Open up, open up.”

The sound of people moaning and gasping in obvious distress as they rapidly ran out of air was evident in the recording. The migrants had tried to raise the alarm, and even used a pole to try to punch through the roof of the container, the court has heard.

Robinson, who admitted involvement in two smuggling trips before the deaths, told police that he was got £ 1,500 per migrant he successfully smuggled, and thought he had been paid £ 25,000.

Maurice Robinson, 26, of Craigavon and Hughes, 41, of Armagh, had pleaded guilty to the manslaughters and people- smuggling plot while Gheorghe Nica, 43, of Basildon, and the “man on the continent”, lorry driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, from County Down, were convicted following a trial at the Old Bailey. The sentence hearing continues.