Driver pleads guilty to manslaughter in the deaths of 39 Vietnamese in the UK.
Maurice Robinson, the driver of the container truck containing 39 Vietnamese bodies in the UK late last year, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Robinson, 25, appeared via video link in today's hearing at the Old Bailey Criminal Court in London, pleading guilty to 39 counts of manslaughter. In November 2019, he pleaded guilty to assisting illegal immigration. However, Robinson denied the charge of transferring criminal property.
 |
| Driver Maurice Robinson. Photo:Mirror. |
The refrigerated container carrying 39 Vietnamese illegal immigrants was driven to the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, by 23-year-old Eamon Harrison before being transferred by ferry to the port of Purfleet, England, on the night of October 22nd.
Robinson then took possession of the container and drove it to the Waterglade industrial park in Grays, Essex. Robinson notified authorities when he discovered 39 people dead inside the container in the early hours of October 23. British authorities concluded in February that the cause of death was lack of oxygen and overheating.
British prosecutors said in October that Robinson had been part of a global network smuggling large numbers of illegal immigrants into the UK since December 2018. Driver Harrison faces 41 charges, including manslaughter of 39 people, human trafficking, and assisting illegal immigration. He is being held in Ireland. The UK has requested Ireland's extradition of the driver, but it has not yet been granted.
Previously, on October 23, British police found 39 bodies in a shipping container at the Grays industrial park in Essex. After verification, authorities announced that all the deceased were Vietnamese nationals. Nghe An province had the highest number of victims with 21, followed by Ha Tinh with 10, Hai Phong with 3, Quang Binh with 3, and Thua Thien Hue and Hai Duong with one each.