Ireland Harrison became the second truck driver to be indicted on charges of manslaughter in connection with the 39 bodies in containers in the UK.
Harrison, 23, appeared in the Irish Supreme Court in Dublin today, after being arrested under European Arrest Order on October 31. The court decided to prosecute him for 41 offenses including manslaughter of 39 people, conspiracy to participate in trafficking and conspiracy to support illegal immigration.
Essex County Police, England identified Harrison as the driver who took the frozen container to the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium before it was shipped by ferry to the British port of Purfleet on July 22.
Northern Ireland tractor driver Maurice Robinson, 25, then took the container out of the port to Waterglade Industrial Park, the town of Grays, Essex County and informed the authorities of 39 people killed inside at 1:40 October 23. Robinson was arrested and prosecuted on October 28 with 39 charges of manslaughter, two charges of human trafficking and one charge of money laundering. The British prosecutor said he had been on the cross-border trafficking line since December 2018.
Earlier, Belgian police used video from surveillance cameras to identify the driver of a container that moved to Zeebrugge. Harrison is said to have bypassed the usual procedures of arriving at the port, failing to report his identity or submit a bill of lading proving himself hired by the shipping company.
In addition to two tractors, police arrested three suspects including two men and one woman, who were released on bail until November. British police are looking for two suspects, Ronan Hughes and Christopher. Hughes on charges of manslaughter and human trafficking.
British forensic officials are still identifying 39 victims, including 31 men and 8 women. Currently, there are 14 Vietnamese families requesting to support the search for missing relatives in the UK, 4 documents have been transferred to the Ministry of Public Security of Vietnam to "match information and verify the victims' personal identities".
See more:
Loose control in entry to the UK
Belgium - 'transit point' on the trafficking route
Why did immigrants risk their lives to come to England?
The tragedy used to cause 58 Chinese people to suffocate in containers
Tragedy of 39 bodies in containers in the UK
Disclosure of a container trafficker into England