Trucker's racist rants: Driver boasted 'I hate foreigners' on social media before 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead inside the back of his refrigerated lorry
A lorry driver boasted 'I hate foreigners' before 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead in his refrigerator truck, it has been reported.
Maurice Robinson, 25, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of all 39 Vietnamese nationals, including ten teenagers and two 15-year-old boys, at the Old Bailey earlier this month.
Their bodies were discovered by emergency services shortly after the trailer was left at an industrial estate in Grays, Essex, on October 23 last year.
It had arrived in Purfleet in the early hours that morning after travelling 173 miles from Zeebrugge in Belgium.
Maurice Robinson, 25, of Craigavon in Northern Ireland, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of 39 people, who were found dead in a refrigerated truck in Essex this month
Robinson had posted on social media saying he hated foreigners several years ago
The bodies of 31 men and eight women were found in a refrigerated lorry (pictured) in an industrial estate in Grays, Essex, on Wednesday, October 23
Robinson accused foreigners in a foul-mouthed rant on social media of '(coming) here and act like they own the place'.
'I actually hate foreigners, do us all a huge favour and go home,' he wrote in one post.
'It's just the truth!' he wrote in a social media comment. 'They come here and then act like they own the place when they shouldn't even be here'.
In a third disturbing comment, reported by the Daily Star, he wrote: 'I know! Stuffed in the back of a lorry then come and take everything that is supposed to be ours!'
The shameful remarks were made eight years ago by Robinson on his now deleted social media page.
His victims sent text messages to family saying they 'couldn't breathe' in the refrigerator unit which reached temperatures as low as minus 25C.
The bodies of the victims, who all died of hypothermia or asphyxia, were discovered 30 minutes after he drove away.
Thirty of the group were from Vietnam's poverty-stricken provinces of Nghe An and Ha Tinh, which are said to be the heartlands of the country's trafficking trade.
Robinson's truck (pictured above) was found to have carried 39 migrants, all of which died
Pham Tra My, 26, has been confirmed as among the 39 people who died in a lorry in Essex
Fifteen-year-old Nguyen Huy Hung (left) was the youngest of the group, 10 of whom were teenagers. Nguyen Dinh Lurong, 20, (right) was also named among those who died
Anna Bui Thi Nhung, 19, (left) and cousins Nguyen van Hung, 33, (centre) and Hoang Van Tiep, 18, (right) are also among the dead
Carpenter Le Van Ha, 30, father-of-two Vo Ngoc Nam, 28, and Nguyen Dinh Tu, 26, have also been named among the dead
An Essex Police investigation into an alleged people-smuggling ring linked to the deaths led to charges against five men, including lorry driver Robinson.
During a virtual hearing at the Old Bailey, Robinson admitted 39 counts of manslaughter on or before October 24 last year.
Robinson, of Craigavon in Northern Ireland, had previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration of non-European Union citizens between May 1 2018 and October 24 2019.
He admitted acquiring criminal property, but denied a further charge of transferring criminal property.
The prosecution asked for three weeks to consider whether to go ahead with a trial on that charge.
The victims were were from five provinces in the central, coastal area of Vietnam and two provinces near Hanoi
Robinson appeared by videolink from custody before Mr Justice Sweeney alongside four co-defendants early this month.
He was jointly charged with British Romanian Gheorghe Nica, 43, of Mimosa Close in Langdon Hills, who denied 39 counts of manslaughter.
Nica also denied one count of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
Romanian national Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga, 27, of Hobart Road in Tilbury, denied a charge of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
Christopher Kennedy, 23, of Corkley Road in Darkley, Co Armagh, Northern Ireland, has previously denied conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
The fifth defendant, Valentin Calota, 37, of Cossington Road in Birmingham, was not asked to enter a plea to the charge of conspiring to assist unlawful immigration.
Prosecutor William Emlyn Jones QC said a human trafficking conspiracy charge in relation to Kennedy and Robinson was being dropped by the Crown.
An Essex Police investigation into an alleged people-smuggling ring linked to the deaths led to charges against five men, including lorry driver Robinson
Alongside the investigation in the UK, police in Vietnam arrested eight people over the deaths, according to state media
Robinson's four co-defendants now face a trial at the Old Bailey, lasting up to eight weeks from October 5.
The hearing was conducted virtually with most lawyers and court reporters attending by Skype.
Alongside the investigation in the UK, police in Vietnam arrested eight people over the deaths, according to state media.
There was also a significant response from the Vietnamese community in the UK, who paid tribute to those who died.
Following the discovery of the bodies, members of the Vietnamese community gathered for a vigil at the Church of the Holy Name and Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in East London.
More than 100 people gathered as candles arranged to read '39' were at the foot of the altar at the Catholic church, which has a large Vietnamese congregation.
Trucker's racist rants: Driver boasted 'I hate foreigners' on social media before 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead inside the back of his refrigerated lorry
![Trucker's racist rants: Driver boasted 'I hate foreigners' on social media before 39 Vietnamese migrants were found dead inside the back of his refrigerated lorry]()
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