Man, 42, arrested in connection with Essex lorry deaths 6 months after tragedy

16 April 2020, 11:20

39 bodies were found in the back of a lorry in Grays, Essex, last year
39 bodies were found in the back of a lorry in Grays, Essex, last year. Picture: PA

By Kate Buck

A man has been arrested in connection with the ongoing investigation into the deaths of 39 people in the back of a lorry.

The 42-year-old, from Tottenham, was arrested in London on Thursday, Essex Police said.

He is being held on suspicion of conspiracy to facilitate the entry of non-EU citizens into the UK, the force said.

The bodies of the victims were found inside the refrigerated unit on 23 October last year in an industrial estate in Grays, Essex.

All the victims were Vietnamese.

Among the men, women and children were 10 teenagers, two of them 15-year-old boys. In March, it was revealed they all died from asphyxia and hyperthermia.