A new TV documentary will reveal exactly how detectives uncovered a multimillion-pound international smuggling ring that led to the death of 39 Vietnamese migrants.
Hunting the Essex Lorry Killers is the name of the documentary which will premiere tonight (Wednesday, October 13).
The programme will show the shocking reality of how a 999 call from a lorry driver in an industrial estate in Essex ended in one of the UK’s biggest ever police investigations - exposing a smuggling ring with its roots in a seemingly innocuous haulage business in the heart of Northern Ireland.
The film comes almost two years after the bodies of 28 men, eight women and three children were found closely packed inside the sealed HGV container as steam poured from its doors in Grays, Essex.
A husband and wife, survived by two children aged six and four, were found dead holding hands and huddled together.
The 39 Vietnamese migrants, including two aged just 15, had tried to break out of the sealed lorry trailer and sent heartbreaking goodbye messages to family before they ran out of air and were found dead on UK soil.
The film hears how the migrants had agreed to pay up to £13,000 each for a “VIP” smuggling service that they and their families back in Vietnam had hoped would lead to a better life in the UK.
Temperatures inside the container had reached an unbearable 38.5C.
With exclusive access to Essex Police, their officers and the evidence, the film reveals how detectives pieced together a complex web of testimony, including the role of a witness known (only as “Witness X”) whose evidence helped bring down the criminal gang.
Hunting the Essex Lorry Killers will premiere on BBC Two at 9pm on Wednesday, October 13.
Read more about the documentary here.
