in

Chinese 'snakehead' gang hunted over deaths of 39 migrants in Essex lorry – Mirror.co.uk, Mirror.co.uk

Chinese 'snakehead' gang hunted over deaths of 39 migrants in Essex lorry – Mirror.co.uk, Mirror.co.uk


We will use your email address only for the purpose of sending you newsletters. Please see ourPrivacy Noticefor details of your data protection rights

Could not subscribe, try again laterInvalid Email

Chinese ‘snakehead’ gangsters are feared to be behind the deaths of 39 migrants found frozen in the back of a lorry in Essex.

Snakehead thugs may have plotted the journey as part of a lucrative people-smuggling ring.

Police were tonight given more time to quiz driver Mo Robinson after the **** was one in his truck at Grays, Essex.

One source said: “Those who died had hopes of a future in a good country.”

The gang prey on people desperate to escape destitution for a better life in the West.

And a source said the heartless Snakehead thu gs will feel no shame over sending the 31 men and eight women to their ends – but will be furious at the cash they have lost because they never arrived alive.

Mo Robinson was arrested in Grays, Essex

The hopes of the migrants died with them, trapped in unimaginable horror in a refrigerated truck at an Essex dockside, after traveling 5, 000 miles from their poverty-stricken homeland.

Lorry driver Robinson is said to have fainted when he found the bodies piled up in the trailer he was pulling from Purfleet at Grays.

The 25 – year-old managed to dial 999 but was arrested on suspicion of murder. But friends insisted he would have had no knowledge he was carrying a human cargo of tragedy.

It is feared they came to Britain with help from the Snakeheads, notorious people -smugglers with links to ruthless Triad gangsters in China.

They are said to tout the streets for victims, enticing them with the promise of a better life before charging thousands of pounds to take treacherous trips to the West in a “fly-drive” service costing £ 30, 000.

They are usually flown from the Fujian region of China to Europe, all expenses paid, then placed in accommodation. They are then placed in goods lorries and driven in darkness, without food, ventilation, water or toilet facilities.

Police move the lorry container where bodies were discovered earlier this week

A source, who cannot be identified for her own safety, said: “This is not a crime in Chinese culture, this is an opportunity. It is an agreement between the Snakeheads and their customers. They are willing, they feel no shame in breaking the law.

“There is a pride that they get out of Fujian and have a chance of a good life with good money in places like Northern Ireland, England, Scotland where there are good benefits.

“Yes the journey is difficult, it is uncomfortable and it is frightening, but the gamble is normally worth it. The chances of a good life is worth the risk. In this case it didn’t work. Something went wrong but the Snakeheads will just go again.

“There will be no tears. In Fujian there is little employment, little money or opportunity, so we get it elsewhere.

“ These customers get paid as little as £ 200 a month in China and live in horrible conditions. In the UK, they can get £ 2, 000 a month in a job with no responsibilities, get benefits, get married and live a decent life.

“These people who died in this container had hopes of a future in a good country. Another group will be waiting for their chance to get on a lorry now somewhere in Europe.

(bodies were found inside)

“This will not put them off. The plan normally works. The Snakeheads have contacts everywhere. They are practical people, not emotional. They have lost £ 1.2million in earnings in this. So they will go again. ”

The source claimed migrants who make it to the West start paying back the Snakeheads the moment they get a job, over three years. If they cannot pay, the gangs will put pressure on their families back in China to hand over the cash.

The source spoke as police began moving the bodies of the migrants from the lorry to a mortuary.

Officers are trying to find out if driver Robinson, from Portadown, Co Armagh, knew the 39 were in the trailer being pulled by his Scania truck.

His parents, Mark, 50, and Nichola, are believed to have flown from Northern Ireland to support their son in England. Officers searched their modern semi-detached home in the nearby village of Laurelvale.

They also raided a £ 300, 000 home in nearby Markethill, where it is believed the suspect lives with his pregnant girlfriend. A third property in the area was also searched.

Police forensics officers at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays

A friend of Robinson said: “I’ve known Mo for years. He’s the best in the world and would give you the shirt off his back. He’s not the kind of man that would do this. He would have had no notion what was in that trailer. ”

Another claimed Robinson opened the container to collect paperwork. The friend added: “He was absolutely horrified.”

A Bulgarian national was questioned by police about his alleged links to the truck which is usually licensed there to a firm run by an Irish woman. But the person authorities claimed owned it said last night: “We sold it 13 months ago. ”

The refrigerated trailer came to the UK via Zeebrugge in Belgium. It is still unclear where it started its journey.

It is owned by Global Trailer Rentals Ltd, which is based in Dublin. The firm said it was “entirely unaware the trailer was to be used in the manner in which it appears to have been”.

Social Services have taken around six “ unaccompanied children ”, thought to be from Africa, into care after they were found in the Belfast harbor area, it has emerged.

Dover horror exposed mob’s sickening trade

Notorious gangs based in Rotterdam’s Chinatown have controlled smuggling routes between Europe and the UK for decades.

They are the prime suspects in trafficking the tragic Chinese migrants found dead inside the refrigerated unit on Wednesday.

British detectives are now desperately trying to find out how the human cargo made the 6, 000 mile journey from their homeland.

The tragedy echoes the UK’s worst migrant mass-killing, when 58 Chinese nationals were found dead in a lorry at Dover.

Authorities made the horrendous discovery in 2000 after stopping a Dutch truck that had arrived from Zeebrugge.

The victims had each agreed to pay £ 20, 000 to Chinese ‘snakehead’ gangs to be smuggled into the UK.

All of the migrants – 54 men and four women – came from villages in rural China’s eastern Fujian province.

The impoverish ed coastal region is the hub of human smuggling operations and a hotbed of ‘snakehead’ activity.

There were 38 adults and one teen inside

Families pay for their sons and daughters to be trafficked to the West so they can earn money to send back home.

Jing Ping Chen – also known as ‘Little Sister Ping’ or ‘Godmother of the Snakeheads’ – was linked in a Dutch court to the Dover plot.

Originally from Fujian province, in the late 1990 s and early 2000 s she was among the most prolific traffickers of human cargo in Europe.

She was notorious in Rotterdam’s Westkruisad Chinatown and suspected of being the main organizer of the Dover shipment.

Her boyfriend at the time was a powerful Triad based in the city and they had a holiday home in

She was also said to have strong connections among Communist Party officials in Fujian.

Dutch investigators said the 5ft 1ins-tall smuggler went into hiding within hours of the deaths at Dover.

She was jailed for three years in 2003 after being accused of smuggling up to 175, 000 – earning around £ 15 m.

A huge investigation is underway

The judge said she was the “leader of a group smuggling human beings” but cleared her of any involvement in the Dover case.

Chen, now 53, was released in 2005. Her current whereabouts are unknown.

The ‘snakehead’ smuggling operations had remained shrouded in secrecy for decades until the Dover lorry deaths.

Crucially two migrants survived the tragedy and gave investigators a chilling insight into how they were trafficked.

Su Di Ke, 20, and Ke Shi Guang, 22, said their families in China agreed to pay gangsters £ 20, 000 so they could get to the UK.

They handed over £ 700 initially – with the remaining £ 19, 300 due once they arrived in Britain.

Before leaving Fujian along with other migrants they were given a code number identifying which gang ‘owned’ them.

They had been promised they would be flown directly into the UK, where they could claim asylum.

But instead they were flown Belgrade, Serbia, on legal Chinese documents before having their passports taken off them.

They were handed fake South Korean documents before being taken into Hungary and smuggled through Austria and France to the Netherlands.

Police forensics officers at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, Essex

There they were housed in a safe house in Rotterdam and passed on to Turkish mafia middlemen who arranged the crossing.

Finally in a warehouse in Waalhaven they were put into the lorry and sent on their final journey to the UK.

Most victims were in several layers of clothing because they were only allowed to bring what they were wearing .

During the trial of Dutch trucker Perry Wacker, the two survivors gave harrowing about their hellish crossing.

They said the trailer’s air vent was initially tied open and they were given four buckets of water for the journey.

But Wacker closed it before he left Belgium to avoid the migrants being spotted and never checked on his human cargo.

They were trapped inside the air tight container for more than nine hours on one of the hottest days of the year.

During the six-hour crossin g Wacker left his lorry to enjoy a meal of roast lamb and rice, with shrimp salad, and watch two films.

Meanwhile the migrants began banging frantically on the inside of the container with their shoes as their air supply ran out.

“People began to panic because the window was shut and there was no air,” said Su Di Ke.

The scene inside the container lorry that carried dead asylum seekers into Dover Docks in June 2000

“Some people removed tomatoes and wanted to kick open the doors. There was a lot of shouting and screaming, but no-one came. ”

Finally they held hands and ate tomatoes because in China it is believed you should not die on an empty stomach.

Su Di Ke and Ke Shi Guang only survived because they were last to be loaded onto the truck and were sat near the doors.

Police found the telephone number of the same UK-based Chinese translator, Ying Guo, on the bodies of (victims.)

After recovering from the ordeal, the survivors confirmed ‘snakeheads’ were behind the plot.

“I didn’ t have a good life at home and the snakehead told me there would be no risk, ”said Su Di Ke.

“ We want to come to Britain because you can earn good money. Life is good there. ”

The survivors had been told to ring Guo, known as Jenny, once they arrived in Britain so she could help them claim asylum.

“The snakeheads asked us to write her number down and, if we were arrested by police, to call her,” said Su Di Ke.

Ke Shi Guang added: “The snakeheads at home cheated us. They said they would be buying the tickets and we would be traveling by air. ”

Wacker, 33, from Rotterdam, was jailed for 14 years in 2001 and quietly released from prison in 2010.

Police bow their heads
(Read More)

Essex lorry deaths

Guo, from Waltham Forest, received a six-year jail term for her role in the tragedy and still lives in the UK.

Nine other members of the gang, including Turkish gangster Gurbel Ozcan, were jailed in Holland for their part in the tragedy.

Police struggled to identify the bodies because the migrants were either carrying fake documents or none at all.

In desperation they took photos of the corpses, which were put on display in local town halls in Fujian.

Soon families came forward and British detectives flew to China to carry out DNA tests – eventually identifying all 58 victims.

They also spoke to relatives of the dead, who pointed the finger of blame at ‘snakeheads’.

Investigators discovered the migrants had arrived in Rotterdam from various destinations and routes.

Some were driven from Serbia through Europe in the back of vans, others flown to Paris and then taken by train to Belgium.

Alleged ‘snakehead’ ringleader Chen Xiaokong was arrested in Fujian in 2001 but it is unclear whether he ever faced justice.

Brave Browser
Read More
Payeer

What do you think?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings

Giannis Antetokounmpo Denies Giving Juicy Quote To Harvard Business School About Possibly Leaving Bucks – Deadspin, Deadspin.com

Giannis Antetokounmpo Denies Giving Juicy Quote To Harvard Business School About Possibly Leaving Bucks – Deadspin, Deadspin.com

11pm Arsenal news LIVE: Pepe brace beats Vitoria, Ozil not in squad, Upamecano £ 40million interest – The Sun, Thesun.co.uk

11pm Arsenal news LIVE: Pepe brace beats Vitoria, Ozil not in squad, Upamecano £ 40million interest – The Sun, Thesun.co.uk