Police charge man, 43, held at Frankfurt airport with 39 counts of manslaughter over Essex lorry container deaths of Vietnamese migrants and arrest 22-year-old in Northern Ireland
- Gheorghe Nica, from Basildon, was detained at Frankfurt Airport in Germany
- Brought into UK on European Arrest Warrant and is now in Essex Police custody
- Nica appeared before magistrates and will now go up before the Old Bailey
Police today charged a 43-year-old man with 39 counts of manslaughter and held another suspect over the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people in Essex refrigerated lorry container.
Gheorghe Nica, of Basildon, was detained at Frankfurt Airport in Germany and brought back to the UK on a European Arrest Warrant before being taken into custody by Essex Police.
Another 22-year-old man was arrested in Northern Ireland on Sunday on suspicion of manslaughter and facilitating unlawful immigration. He remains in police custody, officers said.
Ten teenagers, including two 15-year-old boys, were among 39 Vietnamese nationals whose bodies were discovered in the lorry trailer in the early hours of October 23
Nica appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Saturday and will next appear at the Old Bailey on March 16.
Police say they are making ‘significant progress’ with the case, which began when the bodies were found in the back of a lorry at an industrial case in Grays, Essex,
It came as post-mortems of all victims were completed and the causes of death given as a lack of oxygen and overheating, provisional investigations show.
Investigators also made further arrests in connection with the manslaughter investigation.
A 22-year-old man was arrested in Northern Ireland on Sunday on suspicion of manslaughter and facilitating unlawful migration and he is currently in custody in Essex.
German authorities and the National Crime Agency carried out an arrest on the instruction of Essex Police last week.
Gheorghe Nica, 43, was detained at Frankfurt Aiport on Wednesday.
He was the subject of a European Arrest Warrant and appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Saturday.
His next appearance will be at the Old Bailey on March 16 where he faces charges of 39 counts of manslaughter and one count of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
A second man appeared in Dublin’s High Court in connection with the deaths last Tuesday.
Eamonn Harrison, 22, of Mayobridge, Northern Ireland, awaits extradition to the UK.
He also faces 39 charges of manslaughter and charges for conspiracy to traffic people and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and will appear in court again tomorrow.
Driver Maurice ‘Mo’ Robinson, 25, of Craigavon, Northern Ireland was previously with 39 counts of manslaughter and has admitted assisting unlawful immigration and acquiring criminal property.
Christopher Kennedy, 23, of County Armagh, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit human trafficking and assisting unlawful immigration and is due to go on trial next year.
There have also been several other arrests, including in Vietnam.
Detectives want to hear from anyone who has knowledge of two similar journeys that haulage vehicles made into Purfleet on October 11 and 18, 2019.
Police believe lorries were used to illegally smuggle people into the UK via the port.