A 23-year-old man from Northern Ireland has been arrested in connection with the deaths of 39 migrants found dead in a lorry container in Essex.
A spokesman for Essex Police said the man was arrested in the early hours of Friday on the M40 in Beaconsfield, in Buckinghamshire.
The force said: “A 23-year-old man from Northern Ireland was arrested by officers from Thames Valley Police on behalf of Essex Police in the early hours of this morning on the M40 in Beaconsfield in connection with our enquiry into the deaths of 39 Vietnamese nationals in a lorry trailer found in Grays.
“He was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration, and remains in custody.”
The discovery of the 39 Vietnamese nationals sparked the largest murder case in Essex Police's history last month.
The bodies, including two 15-year-old boys, were found in the trailer in an industrial park in Grays, in the early hours of October 23, shortly after the lorry arrived on a ferry from Zeebrugge, in Belgium.
The lorry driver, Mo Robinson, 25, has appeared in court charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering, and is expected to appear at the Old Bailey next week.
Extradition proceedings have been launched to bring Eamonn Harrison, 22, from Mayobridge in Newry, Co Down, to the UK.
He appeared at Dublin’s Central Criminal Court on Thursday after he was arrested on a European arrest warrant in respect of 39 counts of manslaughter, one count of a human trafficking offence and one count of assisting unlawful immigration.
Detectives have also urged Ronan Hughes, 40, and his brother Christopher, 34, from Armagh, Northern Ireland, to hand themselves in. They are wanted on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking.
