UK police arrests two more people over death of 39 Vietnam nationals

The UK police on February 11 said that two more arrests have been made over the death of 39 Vietnamese migrants who were found in the back of a lorry in London, last year. The investigations have indicated that the people had died of overheating and lack of oxygen including two 15-year-old boys. The lorry was later found in an industrial estate in Grays Essex, nearly 32 kilometres east of London in October. 

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The people who were found dead were mostly from Nghe An and Ha Tinh provinces in north-central Vietnam. The case brought to the forefront the human smuggling trade issue in the UK. The Essex Police had arrested a 22-year-old man in Northern Ireland on February 9 on the suspicion of manslaughter and also one who facilitates unlawful immigration. The man is currently in police custody. Last week, the authorities had also detained Gheorghe Nica at Frankfurt Airport who was also wanted on a European Arrest Warrant.

Read - Essex Lorry Deaths: Irish Judge Approves Extradition Of Suspect To UK

Irish Judge Approves Extradition Of Suspect

In other developments in the case that rocked Britain, last month an Irish court ruled that one of  the truck drivers wanted over the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants found in a refrigerated lorry near London can be extradited from Ireland to the UK. According to reports, British authorities were seeking Eamonn Harrison on charges of human trafficking and immigration offences. Judge Donald Binchy of the Dublin High court reportedly said that the 23-year-old should now be sent to Britain to face charges of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people. 

Harrison had earlier challenged the extradition order as his lawyers argued that a lack of information in the warrant about the place of death and how he was involved made the case 'fundamentally defective'. Along with Harrison, another man from Northern Ireland was arrested and charged with conspiring to arrange the travel of people with a view to their exploitation, and conspiracy to break immigration laws. According to reports, the police had arrested ten people last year in connection with the deaths, now the total count has become 12.

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