U.K. Truck Driver Admits Role in 39 Migrant Deaths

NPR provides an update on a migration tragedy in the United Kingdom.  

Just more than a month since dozens of dead migrants were discovered in a truck in southeast England, the driver has admitted to conspiring to assist unlawful immigration and acquire criminal property. Maurice Robinson pleaded guilty to the two charges at a court hearing Monday in London.

Robinson also faces one manslaughter charge for each of the 39 Vietnamese nationals found dead in his truck’s trailer last month. He faces 43 charges in all — including the two he pleaded guilty to and charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit human trafficking.  The court on Monday did not ask for Robinson’s plea regarding these other charges.

The guilty plea marks a step forward in a case that has unsettled the U.K. in the weeks since the refrigerated container was found abandoned in the port town of Grays, in the county of Essex. Inside were the bodies of 31 male and eight female migrants, ranging in age from teens to mid-40s.

KJ