By Lucy Caulkett-
The alleged ringleader of a people-smuggling gang has pleaded guilty to the manslaughters of 39 men, women and children who were found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex. The bodies of the Vietnamese nationals were found in the container which had been transported by ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet early on October 23 2019.
Marius Mihai Draghici, 50, was detained by police in Romania last August and charged with 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. On Friday, Draghici pleaded guilty to the charges at a hearing at the Old Bailey before Judge Richard Marks KC.
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The tragic discovery in Essex was made in the early hours of Wednesday October 23, 2019, when the Vietnamese men, women and children were found unresponsive in the trailer of a lorry by its driver, in Eastern Avenue, Grays.
Each of the victims, and their families, had paid significant sums of money to an organised criminal group whose members promised them safe passage to the UK and a life here. However, that promise turned to tragedy and the victims suffocated in the back of the lorry which was being driven by Northern Irishman Maurice Robinson.
Draghici’s role was to be involved in the onward transportation of the migrants once they arrived in the UK.
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So far, ten people, have been sentenced for their roles in the deaths of the 39 people. Their sentences total almost 100 years.
Following Draghici’s guilty pleas, prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones KC noted the defendant’s basis of plea. Mr Emlyn Jones said he was “disinclined to accept there was no financial reward” for Draghici’s involvement even though he could not point to any money being handed over.
Judge Marks remanded the defendant into custody to be sentenced at a date to be fixed. Defence barrister Gillian Jones KC said her client would prefer to be sentenced “sooner rather than later”.
Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe of Essex Police said: “This is the most complex investigation ever undertaken by Essex Police and we have never lost sight of the far-reaching impact the events of October 2019 has had. Each of the people inside the lorry container were mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers and sisters. They have family who feel their loss acutely each and every day.
“Today is a significant day. Draghici’s pleas show that the evidence we were able to present was so overwhelming that he was left with very little option but to admit his guilt and he is the eleventh person to be convicted for their part in this tragic incident.”
DCI Metcalfe added: “Draghici left the UK after 23 October 2019 and remained hidden in Europe until August 2022. We have always maintained that the actions we believed Draghici was responsible for could never go unpunished. We now know they will not, and he is facing a significant amount of time in prison.”
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