Lorry death families to share seized £280k assets

A judge has made a final determination on how much cash and assets from the ringleader behind a trafficking operation will be distributed as compensation to the victims' families.

Thirty-nine Vietnamese migrants lost their lives after suffocating inside an airtight container, found in Grays, Essex, on 23 October 2019.

Eleven people were convicted in the UK in connection with the case, in which it was revealed the victims had paid significant sums of money for a "VIP" route into Europe.

Following a hearing at the Central Criminal Court, a judge ordered a property belonging to Ronan Hughes worth £182,078.90 to be confiscated and included in a compensation package totalling £283,802.58.

Hughes, who was a haulage manager, was jailed for a total of 20 years at the Old Bailey in February 2021, after pleading guilty to his part in the 39 deaths.

At a hearing in November, Hughes contested a property he had built on land belonging to his parents in Ireland was not an available asset for confiscation proceedings.

But a judge at the Central Criminal Court decided it was, and made a confiscation order of £182,078.90 to be paid in compensation.

The Vietnamese men, women and children paid fees rising to £13,000 for what they believed to be a safe passage to the UK.

Their bodies were discovered after the container they were in was transported by ferry from Belgium to Purfleet.

On the day of the discovery, Hughes left Thurrock and boarded a plane back to Ireland, police said.

On 20 April 2020, after a European Arrest Warrant was granted, Hughes was extradited to Essex.

Det Ch Insp Louise Metcalfe said following the criminal proceedings against all involved, "our final act has been to pursue Hughes for his ill-gotten gains".

"We know he – and his associates – treated this operation as a lucrative business and it would not have been acceptable to anyone at Essex Police to conclude our work at this group's conviction," she said.

"This money – all £283,802.58 of it – will be divided between the Vietnamese families who continue to feel the devastating loss of their loved ones.

"It will do little to help heal their loss, I know this, but I do truly hope it will allow them to begin to move forward."

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