Police found bloody handprints on freezing ‘coffin’ where 39 migrants died

The 39 migrants who died after being locked in a freezing container en-route to the UK left ‘bloody handprints’ on the doors and walls of the ‘coffin’ where their bodies were found.

Sources have now claimed that the migrants, six of which were thought to have been Vietnamese, were naked or had minimal clothing when they were found in the container on Wednesday in Purfleet, Essex. 

It is also believed that the Vietnamese migrants are all from the Can Loc district in northern Vietnam and had been ‘banging on the doors’ for help.

The latest revelation comes as a 48-year-old man from Northern Ireland was arrested at Stansted Airport on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and suspicion of manslaughter.

Vietnamese woman Pham Thi Tra My sent her mother a series of harrowing messages telling her she ‘loved her’ and was ‘dying because she couldn’t breathe.’ 

Her family claim the 26-year-old paid people smugglers £30,000 to travel to the UK via China ‘in search of a better life.’ 

Pham’s family are believed to be one of ten that have come forward saying that they feared their relatives were missing after the discovery in Essex. 

At least six of those found in the container may have been Vietnamese and new reports from the BBC now claim that a 20-year-old man is also feared to be one of the victims.

Relatives of Nguyen Dinh Luong told the broadcaster that he may be one of those found in the container. His family claimed they received urgent messages from two phones relating to Nguyen.

This is while a third Vietnamese family said a 19-year-old woman was missing after calling relatives at 6.20am on Tuesday to say she was getting into a container and was turning her phone off.

Police and forensic officers investigate a lorry in which 39 bodies were discovered in the trailer on Wednesday. Sources have now claimed that bloodied hand marks were found inside

Pham Thi Tra My

Nguyen Dinh Luong

Pham Thi Tra My (left) had text her mother whilst taking the journey to the UK. The family of Nguyen Dinh Luong (right) are also concerned for his safety 

The Vietnamese migrants are all thought to have travelled from the same district, the Can Loc district, which is pictured above

The Vietnamese migrants are all thought to have travelled from the same district, the Can Loc district, which is pictured above 

Forensic officers are pictured above doing a full sweep of the lorry which had been carrying the migrants across the world

Forensic officers are pictured above doing a full sweep of the lorry which had been carrying the migrants across the world

Since Wednesday four people have been arrested in connection with the death of the 39 migrants. Police had initially believed they had come from China

Since Wednesday four people have been arrested in connection with the death of the 39 migrants. Police had initially believed they had come from China

Vietnam’s embassy in London said it had received requests from Vietnamese families asking for help in finding out whether their relatives were among the victims found dead in the back of the truck. 

Who has bee charged so far?

As police in the UK continue their investigations into the 39 migrants who lost their lives trying to enter the country, we keep track of who has been charged so far.

Lorry driver Maurice Mo Robinson: Charged on suspicion of murder, police also given extra time to quiz the 25-year-old.

Joanna Maher, 38, and her husband Thomas, also 38: The Warrington couple who previously told MailOnline they had sold the container are understood to have been held on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and on suspicion of 39 counts of manslaughter.

48-year-old man from Northern Ireland: The latest arrest took place at Stansted Airport. The identity of the man has not yet been revealed, but police said he has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and suspicion of manslaughter. 

Tonight sources told the Mirror that emergency teams responding to the call from driver Maurice ‘Mo’ Robinson found hand prints of the doors of the container. 

‘When the door of the container was opened, first responders were shocked to see dozens of dead bodies piled on top of one another. 

‘There were bloody handprints all along the inside of the lorry door where they must have been banging for help.’ 

Police also revealed that a 48-year-old Northern Irish man has now been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and suspicion of manslaughter.

The area the Vietnamese migrants are thought to have hailed from has suffered hardship in recent years following an environmental disaster in 2016.

The region had relied on fishing as a main source of income and a chemical spill wiped out around 125 miles of coastlines. Since then there has been a rise in migration in the area, with many moving away to find work. 

This comes as a husband and wife, thought to be the last known owners of the lorry, were arrested today after police swooped on their Cheshire home, three days into the biggest murder investigation in Britain since 7/7.  

Joanna Maher, 38, and her husband Thomas, also 38, from Warrington, are understood to have been held on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and on suspicion of 39 counts of manslaughter. 

Pham Thi Tra My sent her mother a series of harrowing text messages telling her she 'couldn't breathe' whilst in the container

Pham Thi Tra My sent her mother a series of harrowing text messages telling her she ‘couldn’t breathe’ whilst in the container 

In text messages sent at 10.28pm GMT on Tuesday, Pham Thi Tra told her mother, 'I love you so much...I'm sorry.' Pictured, The screenshot of Tra My's last text

In text messages sent at 10.28pm GMT on Tuesday, Pham Thi Tra told her mother, ‘I love you so much…I’m sorry.’ Pictured, The screenshot of Tra My’s last text 

Tra My had already made one failed attempt to enter the UK, according to her brother

Her family said 26-year-old Tra My paid £30,000 to travel to the UK via China ‘in search of a better life’ for herself 

The 39 desperate stowaway migrants were locked up in the trailer (above). It is unclear how long they had been in there for but it is believed to be at least 15 hours

The 39 desperate stowaway migrants were locked up in the trailer (above). It is unclear how long they had been in there for but it is believed to be at least 15 hours

First pictures of haulage boss and his wife arrested on 39 counts of manslaughter over Essex death truck tragedy – after it emerged she was lorry’s previous owner 

Thomas Maher and his wife Joanne were arrested at 4am

Thomas Maher and his wife Joanne were arrested at 4am

The husband and wife named by MailOnline as the last known owners of the lorry carrying 39 migrants who froze to death were arrested today after police swooped on their £400,000 Cheshire home.

Joanna Maher, 38, and her husband Thomas, also 38, from Warrington, are understood to have been held on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and on suspicion of 39 counts of manslaughter.

The couple told MailOnline last night they sold the lorry cab a year ago to a company in Ireland – but police officers investigating the tragedy raided their property today before searching the couple’s beauty salon around the corner, New Hair Don’t Care.

The refrigerated trailer carrying the 39 frozen trafficking victims is believed to be owned by a rental firm in Dublin.

A Cheshire Police patrol car arrived at the Irish couple’s four-bedroom house at 7am this morning before up to a dozen police officers went inside at around Midday – just before the arrests were announced. The pair have not been seen today. 

Pham Thi Tra’s last text messages were sent at 10.28pm BST on Tuesday – two hours before the truck reached the UK, as it was en route from Belgium.

Pham Thi Tra told her mother: ‘I’m sorry Mum. My journey abroad hasn’t succeeded. Mum, I love you so much. I’m dying because I can’t breathe.’   

Tra My’s brother told the BBC on Friday that his sister had told them not to contact her because ‘the organisers’ did not allow her to receive calls. 

He said she flew to China from her home in Can Lộc, a rural district of Hà Tĩnh Province in Vietnam, then left for France and initially attempted to cross the border into the UK on October 19, but ‘got caught’ and turned back.  

Tra My is thought be among the eight women and 31 men who were discovered inside the ‘metal coffin’ lorry container on Wednesday morning. The Vietnamese families of a 26-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman have also contacted the BBC raising fears they could be among those dead. 

Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese Ambassador to the UK, said in a tweet: ‘Latest report from the Minister-Counsellor of my Embassy: Essex police emphasised they are still verifying the identity of the 39 deceased.

‘We are waiting for the police to identify the victims. This is a number one priority.’

The report has emerged from Human Rights Space, a civic network based in Vietnam, but there has not yet been any further verification of its claims, or those of her brother. 

Hoa Nghiem from HRS said: ‘It was told on the news that all 39 people were Chinese but Tra My’s family is trying to verify if their daughter was among them as the last dying text from her was coincidentally in time.

‘Our contact is getting more alerts that there could be more Vietnamese people in the truck.’ 

Police previously said the eight women and 31 men were all believed to be Chinese nationals, but claims have now surfaced online that some may have been from Vietnam. 

The Vietnamese Embassy in London confirmed it has contacted police in regard to Tra My. A spokesman for the embassy said they had been contacted by a family in Vietnam which claimed their daughter had been missing ‘since the lorry was found’.

The map above shows the perilous 5,000 mile journey the 39 migrants would have taken to get to the UK having paid 'snakehead' gangsters £20,000 for the privilege

The map above shows the perilous 5,000 mile journey the 39 migrants would have taken to get to the UK having paid ‘snakehead’ gangsters £20,000 for the privilege

Private Ambulances arriving at Tilbury Port to remove the remaining victims from the container on Friday morning

Private Ambulances arriving at Tilbury Port to remove the remaining victims from the container on Friday morning 

The spokesman said: ‘We have contacted Essex Police and we are waiting for an answer.’ 

Joanna Maher, 38, and her husband Thomas, also 38, from Warrington, are understood to have been held on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and on suspicion of 39 counts of manslaughter.

The couple told MailOnline that they sold the lorry cab a year ago to a company in Ireland – but police officers investigating the tragedy raided their property today. The refrigerated trailer carrying the 39 frozen trafficking victims is believed to be owned by a rental firm in Dublin.

A Cheshire Police patrol car arrived at the Irish couple’s house at 7am this on Thursday before up to a dozen police officers went inside at around Midday – just before the arrests were announced. The pair have not been seen.  

Earlier this week Mrs Maher told MailOnline: ‘It’s the cab – my name was down as owning it. 

‘We did own it but sold it 13 months ago’, adding they sold it to a company in County Monaghan, close to where truck driver Maurice ‘Mo’ Robinson, 25, lives.

This harrowing image shows a fleet of private ambulances arriving at Tilbury Docks to take away the victims on Friday

This harrowing image shows a fleet of private ambulances arriving at Tilbury Docks to take away the victims on Friday

Police are also questioning the Northern Irish trucker for the third day with a decision on whether to charge him with murder or release him expected this afternoon. 

An Essex Police spokesman said: ‘We have carried out warrants in Cheshire as part of the investigation into 39 bodies being discovered in a lorry trailer in Grays.

‘As a result, a 38-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman from Warrington have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and on suspicion of 39 counts of manslaughter. A 25-year-old man, the driver of the lorry, remains in custody on suspicion of murder’.   

The container carrying migrants had previously criss-crossed the Channel via refugee hotspots in the week before it arrived in Britain with 39 frozen bodies inside, perhaps for several days, it was revealed today. 

Today their bodies were moved by private ambulance from Tilbury docks to Chelmsford mortuary for post-examinations that will run into next week.

Final journey: How the 39 tragic migrants ended up in Purfleet, Essex, dead in the back of a refrigerated biscuit lorry

Final journey: How the 39 tragic migrants ended up in Purfleet, Essex, dead in the back of a refrigerated biscuit lorry

The industrial estate where the 39 migrants were found frozen to death in the back of a lorry remains sealed off on Friday as police questioned the driver for a third day

The industrial estate where the 39 migrants were found frozen to death in the back of a lorry remains sealed off on Friday as police questioned the driver for a third day

Police at the Warrington home of Joanna Maher, 38, and her husband Thomas, also 38, today where the couple are understood to have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and on suspicion of 39 counts of manslaughter

Police the home of Joanna and Thomas Maher who were the last named owners of the lorry which was found containing 39 migrants

Police the home of Joanna and Thomas Maher who were the last named owners of the lorry which was found containing 39 migrants

Robinson arrived in the UK at the weekend after a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead. He picked up the trailer, which had been shipped from Zeebrugge to Purfleet, yesterday morning. Minutes later, he pulled into the Essex industrial estate and the alarm was raised

Robinson arrived in the UK at the weekend after a ferry from Dublin to Holyhead. He picked up the trailer, which had been shipped from Zeebrugge to Purfleet, yesterday morning. Minutes later, he pulled into the Essex industrial estate and the alarm was raised

Two houses have been raided by police in Northern Ireland - one belonging to the lorry driver in Markethill and the other belonging to his parents in Laurelvale, both Co Armagh. A third house in Armagh City has also been raided

Two houses have been raided by police in Northern Ireland – one belonging to the lorry driver in Markethill and the other belonging to his parents in Laurelvale, both Co Armagh. A third house in Armagh City has also been raided

Mastermind in misery: Brutal rise and fall of ‘Snakehead’ gang leader ‘Sister Ping’ – as it emerges Triad-linked mob use Chinese version of TINDER to lure desperate families to UK with offers of ‘100% safe travel’ for ‘£20,000 fee’ 

Snakeshead  kingpin, Cheng Chui Ping, also known as "Sister Ping", who ran the world's largest people smuggling network for 20 years until her death in a US jail

Snakeshead  kingpin, Cheng Chui Ping, also known as ‘Sister Ping’, who ran the world’s largest people smuggling network for 20 years until her death in a US jail

By Tracy You and Martin Robinson

The trafficking gang believed to have smuggled the tragic 39 Asian migrants into Britain was built by a ruthless Chinese matriarch known as the ‘Mother of all Snakeheads’ who made millions from trafficking during a 20-year reign of terror.

Gangland boss Sister Ping died in a Texas prison in 2014 where she was serving 35 years for building the world’s most sophisticated network of people smugglers who brought up to 200,000 illegal immigrants into America alone.

At her New York trial in 2005 she was described as ‘evil incarnate’ who had made a fortune moving generations of Chinese people around the world for £20,000 since the early 1980s.

This debt would either be paid back in wages from menial work in the West – or relatives back in the Chinese province of Fujian, known as the country’s ‘cradle of human smuggling’, would be forced at gunpoint to take out a loan from Sister Ping’s own sharks.

Police eventually traced Sister Ping to China Town in New York and put her in the dock for people smuggling. But despite her incarceration and death her snakehead gang is still going strong – although its new leader is not yet known. 

Without her the gang is moving with the times and using social media apps including China’s equivalent to Tinder, MoMo, as well as popular messaging app WeChat, promising ‘100 per cent safe travel’.

The south-eastern province of Fujian in China has a long histories of sending migrants abroad for cash

The south-eastern province of Fujian in China has a long histories of sending migrants abroad for cash

Traffickers are using social media apps including China’s equivalent to Tinder, MoMo (pictured), as well as popular messaging app WeChat

Traffickers are using social media apps including China’s equivalent to Tinder, MoMo (pictured), as well as popular messaging app WeChat

Adverts with attractive slogans such as ‘speedy passage of border checks! Pay upon arrival!’ are circulating on apps.

People dreaming of a new life away from China pay an online deposit as low as 5,000 yuan (£550) before being crammed into boats or containers for a long, dark and risky journey, local media reported.   

Chinese, particularly those with lower education levels, continue to be drawn to Europe and North America by the promise of much higher wages than they can earn at home, despite the considerable risks involved.

The victims would flee home hoping for a better life in the UK – but their journey to Britain would be miserable and dangerous, spending up to a month in the back of lorries in dangerous and squalid conditions.

Most would be flown from China to Serbia and then transported by road through Hungary, Austria, France before a boat to Britain from Belgium or Holland. 

Mike Gradwell, a former Lancashire Police detective superintendent who worked on the probe into the Morecambe Bay cockling tragedy in which 23 Chinese illegal immigrants drowned, told BBC Breakfast that those in the trailer were most likely trafficked by Snakehead gangs.

He said: ‘These are criminal travel agents really – you go to a Snakehead to say you want to be trafficked to an economic opportunity and usually you’ll borrow quite a significant amount of money.’

He said relatives were likely to have been in contact with those being trafficked, who may have been carrying phones which could be used by police to help identify them.

Lisa Yam, a lawyer specialising in Chinese immigration, told the programme: ‘We find it is quite difficult to believe why we still have so many Chinese that choose to come into the country (like this).’  

 

‘The migrant minibuses wait there all night’: How quiet Essex port at centre of death truck tragedy ‘comes alive at night’ as ruthless traffickers exchange human cargo under cover of darkness

People-smuggling operations are so rife at the port where 39 migrants were found dead this week that there is said to be a ‘migrant minibus service’.

Former port security guard Gary Lilley, 61, has described how Purfleet on the River Thames in Essex ‘comes alive at night’ with the arrival of trafficked migrants.

Mr Lilley, who lives opposite the port where he worked for six weeks in 2012, also claimed minibuses meet lorries to take away the migrants following their arrival.

Lorries are pictured outside the Purfleet Thames Terminal in Essex on Wednesday

Lorries are pictured outside the Purfleet Thames Terminal in Essex on Wednesday

An aerial view of Purfleet Port (file image) where 39 migrants were found dead this week. Police have now gone back on original claims that the migrants were Chinese

An aerial view of Purfleet Port (file image) where 39 migrants were found dead this week. Police have now gone back on original claims that the migrants were Chinese 

He told The Times that there is a ‘notorious’ lay-by near the port where migrants ditch their documents so UK authorities don’t know where to repatriate them to.

He added: ‘Minibuses wait there at night for them to arrive. Last summer during the heatwave I gave water bottles to two five-year-old girls as they looked desperate.

‘They were standing by the side of the road in a group of about 15. At the lay-by you see the lorries pull up and the migrants pop their heads out to see if it’s safe.

‘On many occasions I’ve seen minibuses pull up and they jump in and are driven off. It’s so organised.’  

Purfleet in Essex is said to 'come alive at night' with the arrival of trafficked migrants

Purfleet in Essex is said to ‘come alive at night’ with the arrival of trafficked migrants

Minibuses are said to meet lorries to take away the migrants following their arrival at Purfleet

Minibuses are said to meet lorries to take away the migrants following their arrival at Purfleet 

Police drive the lorry along a road from the scene at Waterglade Industrial Park on Wednesday

Police drive the lorry along a road from the scene at Waterglade Industrial Park on Wednesday

Smugglers put on ‘mini bus service’ to deal with demand in Purfleet

Last night it was revealed that the Thames port where the migrants were found ‘comes alive at night’ with new arrivals.

A former security guard told The Times that smuggling is so well organised in the area that mini buses meet the migrants and take them away.

Gary Lilley worked at the port for around six weeks as a security guard seven years ago.  

He said: ‘The port comes alive at around 2am. I’ve seen groups of migrants walking out the front door of the port with carrier bags.

‘When there’s a group of them a few security guards on minimum wage aren’t going to stop them. They are all ages, babes in arms and five-year-old girls.

‘Minibuses wait there at night for them to arrive. Last summer during the heatwave I gave water bottles to two five-year-old girls as they looked desperate.’ 

Mr Lilley said security is ‘lax’ at the port, with an X-ray scanner on a customs and excise lorry arriving once every two months for a day to scan vehicles arriving.

The local resident, who has lived in the area for 30 years, said the deaths were ‘heartbreaking’ and left him upset – but he was not surprised by what happened.

It follows the National Crime Agency warning in 2016 that people-smugglers were switching to Purfleet because it was ‘less busy’ than other UK entry points.

The incident on Wednesday has raised questions about border checks and whether the authorities have done enough to tackle trafficking gangs.

This May the NCA warned that Belgian ports such as Zeebrugge – from where the contained travelled to Purfleet – were becoming people-smuggling hotspots.

An earlier report from the Border Force also said Zeebrugge was a key concern.

Asked about security at Purfleet, a Home Office spokesman said this week: ‘I cannot comment on the specific deployment of Border Force staff and security technology.’

Last night, police began moving the bodies found in the refrigerated trailer attached to a lorry as a 25-year-old man remains in custody on suspicion of murder.

How people-smuggling gangs use refrigerated lorries to hide their human cargo from port officials’ thermal cameras… to tragic ends 

Scanners used to detect stowaways in lorries but sources claim they don't work as well on refrigerated units. This is image was taken at Dover, showing migrants sitting on top of boxes inside a traditional container

Scanners used to detect stowaways in lorries but sources claim they don’t work as well on refrigerated units. This is image was taken at Dover, showing migrants sitting on top of boxes inside a traditional container

A refrigerated container was used to smuggle 39 migrants into the UK because it evaded detection by thermal imaging equipment, security staff at the port where it entered Britain have claimed.

The container arrived at Purfleet port, Essex, on the River Thames from Zeebrugge, Belgium.

Security personnel at both ports are equipped with thermal cameras which are used to try and detect stowaways. These are used for traditional containers but not refrigerated ones.

One security official, who did not want to be named, said: ‘Thermal imaging equipment doesn’t work on refrigerated containers. They are simply too cold, and you can’t pick up any heat that might be coming from somebody hidden inside.

‘The smuggling gang must have known this, it just goes to show how clever they are. They are constantly looking for loopholes and sadly, it’s ended up with all these people losing their lives.’

It came as locals in Purfleet and Thurrock also told MailOnline they had often seen groups of migrants close to where 39 migrants were found dead in a lorry yesterday.  

Police are still gather evidence in the area in Grays, Essex, where the lorry containing 39 dead immigrants - 31 men and eight women - was found on Tuesday

Police are still gather evidence in the area in Grays, Essex, where the lorry containing 39 dead immigrants – 31 men and eight women – was found on Tuesday

 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk