An alleged ringleader of a people-smuggling gang has pleaded guilty to the manslaughters of 39 Vietnamese nationals – men, women and children – more than three years after they were found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex.
The bodies of the people, who had agreed to pay up to £13,000 each for a “VIP” smuggling service in hope of a better life in Britain, were found in a container transported by ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet.
