(London) A member of a group of smugglers involved in the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants found four years ago in a truck in England was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison in London.
Caolan Gormley, a 26-year-old truck boss, was found guilty of assisting illegal immigration in connection with three journeys between Europe and the United Kingdom in October 2019.
One of these trips was intercepted by the French police. Investigators believe that some of these intercepted migrants boarded the truck where the 39 bodies were found a few days later.
Caolan Gormley disputed the facts, claiming that he believed he was participating in a scheme to illegally import alcohol into the United Kingdom.
This is number 11e conviction in the United Kingdom in this case. Five of the defendants were convicted of involuntary homicide. The heaviest sentence was 27 years in prison.
The 39 Vietnamese migrants – the youngest of whom were two 15-year-old boys – died of asphyxiation and hyperthermia in the confined space of the container, while being transported to what they hoped would be a new life in the United Kingdom.
The appalling discovery had highlighted the functioning of illegal immigration networks which thrive on the hope of candidates for exile ready to take all the risks and pay considerable sums.
The ramifications in this case have given rise to legal proceedings in several European countries.
A Vietnamese man accused of having been the head of the Belgian cell of the network was sentenced in early 2022 in Belgium to 15 years in prison by the Bruges criminal court.
Eighteen of the 19 people tried in Paris for their participation in this same vast network of illegal immigration from Vietnam to Europe were sentenced three weeks ago to sentences ranging from suspended sentence to 10 years’ imprisonment.