Another suspect pleads guilty in case of 39 dead Vietnamese

Police escort the truck, that was found to contain a large number of dead bodies, as they move it from an industrial estate in Thurrock, south England in this October 23, 2019 file photo. (AP)

LONDON — A 28-years-old man pleaded guilty Friday to immigration violations in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people found inside the back of a container truck in England in what police have described as an apparent human-smuggling tragedy.

Alexandru Hanga, of Tilbury, England, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. He appeared via video link at Central London Criminal Court and will be sentenced at a later date.

The victims, all Vietnamese nationals, were found Oct. 23 in an industrial park in the English town of Grays inside a refrigerated container that had arrived by ferry from Belgium.

The victims came from impoverished villages and are believed to have paid people smugglers to take them on risky journeys to better lives abroad.

The police have been steadily rounding up suspects in the case.

The truck’s driver, Maurice Robinson, 25, admitted 39 counts of manslaughter in April. He had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.