Driver pleads guilty to manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese in UK
Maurice Robinson, the driver of the container truck containing 39 Vietnamese bodies in England late last year, pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
Robinson, 25, appeared via video link at today's hearing at London's Old Bailey and admitted 39 counts of manslaughter. He pleaded guilty in November 2019 to assisting unlawful immigration. However, Robinson denies transferring criminal proceeds.
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| Driver Maurice Robinson. Photo:Mirror. |
The refrigerated container carrying 39 illegal Vietnamese immigrants was driven by driver Eamon Harrison, 23, to the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium, before being transferred by ferry to the port of Purfleet, England, on the night of October 22.
Robinson then took over 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 morning 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 since December 2018 that smuggled large numbers of illegal immigrants into the UK. Harrison, the driver, has been charged with 41 offences, including 39 counts of manslaughter, human trafficking and assisting unlawful immigration. He is being held in Ireland. Britain has requested his extradition but has not yet been granted.
Previously, on October 23, British police found 39 bodies in a container at the Grays Industrial Park in Essex. After verification, authorities announced that all the deceased were Vietnamese nationals. Nghe An province had the most victims with 21, Ha Tinh 10, Hai Phong 3, Quang Binh 3, Thua Thien Hue and Hai Duong each had one.
