Essex lorry deaths: 23-year-old man arrested after 39 migrants found dead
22 November 2019, 11:46 | Updated: 22 November 2019, 11:55
A 23-year-old man has been arrested in connection with the investigation into the death of 39 Vietnamese people in a lorry in Essex.
The Northern Irish man was arrested in the early hours of this morning on the M40 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire.
He was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and remains in custody.
Two men have already been charged with manslaughter over the deaths, which took place in Grays in October.
Eight women and 31 men were found in a refrigerated trailer attached to a lorry in an industrial park.
It is not yet known when the victims entered the trailer, where temperatures can be as low as -25C if the fridge is activated, or the exact route it travelled before crossing from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet.
Lorry driver Maurice Robinson, 25, was charged with 39 counts of manslaughter earlier this month.
22-year-old Eamon Harrison was also charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, as well as conspiracy to commit a human trafficking and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
Three other people arrested in connection with the incident - two men aged 38 and 46 and a 38-year-old woman - have been released on bail.
Two people were also arrested in Vietnam's Ha Tinh province after launching an investigation into suspected human trafficking.
