Driver charged with manslaughter of 39 people

A lorry driver has been charged with the manslaughter of 39 people found dead inside a refrigerated trailer.

Maurice Robinson, 25, was arrested after the bodies of 31 men and eight women were found in Grays on Wednesday.

He is further charged with people trafficking, immigration and money laundering offences, Essex Police said.

Mr Robinson, of Laurel Drive, Craigavon, Northern Ireland, is due before Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Monday.

Three others, a man and a woman, both 38, from Warrington, Cheshire, and a 48-year-old man from Northern Ireland remain in police custody.

All three were arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people.

A man in his 20s arrested by Irish police in Dublin was said to be "of interest" to the Essex Police investigation.

Earlier police said efforts to identify the 39 people were focusing on the Vietnamese community.
The victims - who police initially believed to be Chinese nationals - were inside a refrigerated trailer which came to the UK via the Belgian port of Zeebrugge.

Officers said there had been a "large amount of engagement" from the Vietnamese population since the discovery of the bodies in the early hours of Wednesday.

They said all the bodies had now been removed from the trailer and post-mortem examinations were being carried out.

The victims had been carrying "very few" identity documents, leaving officers to rely on fingerprints, DNA and distinguishing features such as tattoos or scars, he said.

Source: BBC

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