LONDON: A British judge on Friday handed down sentences of 27 and 20 years to the ringleaders of a people smuggling plot that led to the death of 39 Vietnamese migrants in horrific conditions in the back of a lorry.
The 39 — the youngest of whom were two 15-year-old boys — suffocated in the container as they were being transported to what they had hoped would be new lives in Britain. The lifeless bodies of the migrants were discovered inside the sealed unit at a port near London in October, 2019.
The case cast a shocking new light on the lengths migrants will go to to reach Britain — and the gangs exploiting their desperation.
Ringleaders Ronan Hughes and Gheorghe Nica, who were convicted on 39 counts of manslaughter, were jailed at London’s Old Bailey criminal court for 20 years and 27 years respectively.
Truck drivers Maurice Robinson and Eamonn Harrison were also given 13-year and 18-year sentences respectively.
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