Essex lorry deaths: Man, 23, charged with human trafficking

24 November 2019, 11:53

Another man has been charged with human trafficking in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people who were found inside a lorry in Essex.

Christopher Kennedy, 23, was arrested in Buckinghamshire on Friday.

He stands accused of conspiring to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to exploitation and conspiracy to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law.

Kennedy, from Darkley, Norther Ireland, will appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court on Monday.

He is now the third person to be charged in connections with the deaths of the eight women and 31 men - of which the youngest was 15 and the oldest 44.

Police confirmed this month that all the victims were Vietnamese nationals.

The man driving the lorry, 25-year-old Maurice Robinson, from Craigavon, Northern Ireland, has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, and money laundering, and will appear at the Old Bailey on Monday.

Eamonn Harrison, 22, has been arrested in Ireland and has also been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter and human trafficking offences.

Essex Police have started extradition proceedings to bring him to the UK.

Brothers Ronan and Christopher Hughes, also from Northern Ireland, are currently wanted by police on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking.

Two men, aged 38 and 46, and a woman, 38, have all been released on bail pending further enquiries until 24 January.

A number of others have also been arrested in Vietnam.

The lorry was discovered in the early hours of 23 October, and sparked the "largest mass fatality victim identification" investigation in the history of Essex Police.