Man, 23, is charged with human trafficking offences after 39 migrants died trapped in a refrigerated lorry in Essex
- Christopher Kennedy, 23, was arrested in the early hours of Friday on the M40
- He was charged with conspiracy to arrange travel of people with view to exploit
- Also conspiracy to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law
- Essex Police said he is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court Monday
A man from Northern Ireland has been charged with human trafficking offences after the bodies of 39 migrants were found in a refrigerated lorry container in Essex.
Christopher Kennedy, 23, was arrested in the early hours of Friday morning on the M40.
Kennedy, from Darkley, Co Armagh, has been charged with conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to exploitation and conspiracy to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law.
A man from Northern Ireland has been charged with human trafficking offences after the bodies of 39 migrants were found in a refrigerated lorry container (pictured) in Essex
Kennedy, from Darkley, Co Armagh, has been charged with conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to exploitation and conspiracy to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law. Pictured: The lorry
The victims included (top row, left to right) Pham Tra My, 26, Anna Bui Thi Nhung, 19, Nguyen Huy Hung, 15, and (middle row, left to right) Nguyen Dinh Lurong, 20, Vo Ngoc Nam, 28, Hoang Van Tiep, 18, and (bottom row, left to right) Nguyen Dinh Tu, 26, Nguyen van Hung, 33, and Le Van Ha, 30
Essex Police said he is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday.
It comes after it emerged that one of the teenagers found dead in the trailer in an industrial park in Grays had gone missing from an asylum centre in the Netherlands.
The country’s Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (COA) told local media the youngster had run away from a shelter for vulnerable migrants.
The agency would not give details about the name or age of the teenager.
Ten teenagers, including two 15-year-old boys, were among the bodies of 39 Vietnamese nationals discovered in the early hours of October 23, shortly after the lorry arrived on a ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium.
The driver, Mo Robinson, 25, from Northern Ireland, is expected to appear at the Old Bailey on Monday charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering.
Extradition proceedings have also been launched in Ireland to bring Eamonn Harrison, 22, from Mayobridge in Newry, Co Down, to the UK.
He appeared at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court on Thursday after he was arrested on a European arrest warrant in respect of 39 counts of manslaughter, one count of human trafficking and one count of assisting unlawful immigration.
Detectives have also urged Ronan Hughes, 40, and his brother Christopher, 34, from Armagh, Northern Ireland, to hand themselves in. They are wanted on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking.