According to the judgment, two men, one of whom drove the lorry from northern Europe to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, were found guilty today of 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. Two other men had already admitted the same offences before the trial began. One of them was the lorry driver who picked up the container from the cargo ship in the port of Purfleet and then drove it to Grays. A third lorry driver and another defendant were found guilty of people-smuggling offences today and two others previously pleaded guilty.

Soon after the discovery of the 39 bodies, it became evident that this case had a considerable transnational dimension. Therefore, the decision was taken to swiftly set up a joint investigation team. Judicial and law enforcement authorities have since worked closely together in this JIT to map the alleged criminal activity and to determine the possibility of finding cross-links to ongoing regional and local investigations of migrant smuggling activities.

Eurojust supported the case not only by assisting in the setting up of the JIT but also by organising and facilitating several case-specific coordination meetings and a coordination centre.

The national authorities involved are Essex Police and The Crown Prosecution Service in the UK, the Federal Prosecutor’s Office of Belgium, OCRIEST (Central Office against illegal immigration and employment of undocumented workers) and JUNALCO (National specialised Jurisdiction against organised crime) in France, and the Garda National Immigration Bureau in Ireland.