Dismantling the Essex lorry conspiracy as Caledon haulier handed seven year jail sentence

A Caledon haulier linked to the people smugglers responsible for the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants has been jailed for seven years.

Twenty-six-year-old Caolan Gormley was found guilty of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration after a trial in London.

“Today, we reflect on the impact this incident has had, both here in Essex but most importantly 8,000 miles away in Vietnam, where families’ loss and heartbreak has played out so publicly.

“Although we are extremely proud of our investigation, and the relationships we have developed throughout that, we truly hope no investigation of this magnitude will ever have to be repeated.”

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe was speaking after the eleventh person – Gormley – convicted in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants in Essex in 2019 was jailed today (Thursday).

It brings the total sentences handed down to those involved to 117 years in jail.

Essex Police’s complex investigation was launched in the early hours of Wednesday, October 23, 2019, when the 39 Vietnamese men, women and children were found unresponsive in the trailer of a lorry by its Co Armagh driver Maurice Robinson, in Eastern Avenue, Grays, Essex.

The lorry had travelled from Zeebrugge in Belgium to the Port of Purfleet, in Essex.

Each of the 39 victims, and their families, had paid significant sums of money to an organised crime group whose members promised them safe passage to the UK and a life here.

The police investigation, which was carried out alongside a spectrum of public, private and international partners, has been far-reaching and has uncovered an international human trafficking conspiracy, which has ultimately led to the conviction of 11 people here in the UK as well as 18 people earlier this month in France.

Gormley is the final person to be sentenced, having been found guilty of one count of conspiracy to assist in unlawful immigration.

He was jailed today at the Central Criminal Court in London.

An investigation like no other in Essex

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe said: “Today is the conclusion of a four-year investigation; an investigation unlike anything to have ever been undertaken at Essex Police.

“Alongside the National Crime Agency and our international partners, have uncovered an international human trafficking conspiracy, which has ultimately led to the conviction of 11 people here in the UK as well as 18 people earlier this month in France.

“This group of men worked together to smuggle people illegally into the UK, with some receiving significant payment for their services. There can be no greater demonstration of how dangerous the organised criminal networks involved in people smuggling can be than this tragic case.

“These 39 people, all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, died in the most inhumane way, because of the actions of this greed-driven gang of people smugglers.

“On October 23, 2019 officers were called to a scene that no emergency services responder could ever have prepared for. The officers who attended that morning will never forget what they saw in that trailer.

“Every person in that trailer had left behind a family. They had been promised safe passage to our shores and they were lied to. Instead, they were left to die, all because of greed.

“It has been my great privilege to have led this investigation. That same privilege belonged to those before me.”

DCI Metcalfe added: “These outcomes, however, do not change the overwhelming sense of loss and sadness. We remember the heart-breaking words of Phan Thi Thanh’s young son, whose poem ‘Beloved Mommy’ left an emotional mark on us all.

“So to the words of the parents of 15-year-old Nguyen Huy Hung, who despaired at not being able to see their talented son fulfil his dreams.

“And the family of 22-year-old Dang Huu Tuyen, who I believe spoke for all of our families when they said: ‘Our hearts are broken’.

“Today, we reflect on the impact this incident has had, both here in Essex but most importantly 8,000 miles away in Vietnam, where families’ loss and heartbreak has played out so publicly.

“Although we are extremely proud of our investigation, and the relationships we have developed throughout that, we truly hope no investigation of this magnitude will ever have to be repeated.”

Making sure a tragedy like this never happens again

Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Hooper, who has overseen our investigation throughout, added: “The families of the 39 victims have had their heartbreak played out for the world to see. All throughout this nightmare, they have kept their dignity, and they have put their trust in us to deliver justice. As we know well in policing, trust is earned, and I hope they feel we have done that.

“We vowed to treat the victims with dignity and respect and to secure justice for their families. This has by no means been simply down to Essex Police; this was an operation which encompassed law enforcement organisations across the country and internationally, the Crown Prosecution Service, business and industry representatives and our local authority partners.

“There are too many people and organisations to name, but they know who they are and the invaluable contributions they have made.

“This investigation and the sentences handed to these 11 individuals, should serve as a warning to anyone who believes they can prey on the vulnerabilities of migrants and their families, transporting them in such an inhumane way. My message in 2019 is the same as my message now, if you think you can exploit people, prey upon and treat them as expendable cargo, we will find you and we will stop you.

“Across Essex, we’re continuing to make sure that victims of organised immigration crime are treated as such, and we’re trailblazers in changing national protocol and policy on this matter. We’re also working closely with the haulage industry, to make sure a tragedy like this never happens again.”

An unscrupulous network of organised criminals

Russell Tyner, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS, said: “Caolan Gormley was involved in an unscrupulous network of organised criminals who profited from smuggling desperate people into the country.

“Not only did this criminal network breach UK border security, but in doing so they also risked the lives of those they transported with their utter disregard for safety. It is devastating that thirty-nine vulnerable people have lost their lives as a result of their greed and recklessness.

“The CPS is committed to working with law enforcement to dismantle these criminal networks by identifying and prosecuting all those that exploit and profit from people smuggling, whenever our legal test is met.

“We will look to pursue confiscation proceedings against any ill-gotten gains the defendant accrued in this activity.

“My thoughts will always be with the families and friends of the victims.”

Thorough investigation

In the words of Essex Police:

When our officers arrived at the scene, they made the tragic discovery of 39 Vietnamese victims in the trailer of the lorry. Our brave officers went into the trailer and checked each person, one by one, to determine if there were any signs of life.

Maurice Robinson had picked up the trailer at the Port of Tilbury shortly at around 1am, before parking up in Eastern Avenue to ‘give [them] some air’, as per a Snapchat message from his boss, Ronan Hughes.

Upon opening the doors and realising that those inside were not breathing, Robinson closed the doors again and made a series of phone calls to his bosses, driving around West Thurrock until he had abandoned his burner phone and come up with a plan.

Half an hour later, he parked up on Eastern Avenue for a second time, and that was when he called 999.

Robinson, who had denied any knowledge of people being in the trailer, was arrested at the scene. The investigation identified that he had been involved in the conspiracy for some time. He was charged several days later.

Hughes pleaded guilty to 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and acquiring criminal property.

He was sentenced to a total of 13 years and four months.

The leader of the conspiracy was Robinson’s boss, Ronan Hughes. Hughes left Thurrock and boarded a plane back to Ireland on the day of the discovery. We issued him as a wanted man on 29 October 2019, but he remained steadfast in his home in Co. Monaghan, where we were unable to arrest him without a European Arrest Warrant.

On 20 April 2020, the European Arrest Warrant was granted, and Hughes was brought back to Essex to face the charges against him.

He pleaded guilty to all offences and was sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison.

Working alongside Hughes to head up the conspiracy was Gheorghe Nica. He and Hughes would arrange the collection of the migrants in France and their transport to the UK. Nica would also arrange drivers to pick up migrants from Collingwood Farm in Orsett once they had successfully been taken there by the lorries. It’s believed that these cars would be taken to locations in London.

Nica was found guilty of 39 counts of manslaughter and one count of conspiracy to assist illegal immigration following a ten-week trial at the Old Bailey. He was sentenced to a total of 27 years in prison.

Eamonn Harrison had the job of picking up migrants at designated drop-off points in France and Belgium on a number of occasions. The last time he would undertake this task was for the fatal trailer on 22 October 2019. He would load migrants onto the airtight trailer and lock them in – leaving them with no method of escape, before dropping the trailer at Zeebrugge for its onward journey to Purfleet.

For his actions, he was sentenced to a total of 18 years in prison.

Marius Draghici’s role was described by The Honourable Mr Justice Garnham as a “small but essential cog” in the conspiracy. He coordinated the onward transportation of the migrants once they arrived in the UK.

Draghici was also present at a significant meeting on 19 October, ahead of the fatal journey made by the victims, during which Gheorghe Nica made a significant payment to Ronan Hughes.

Draghici was jailed for 12 years in July having fled the country and sought refuge in Romania.

Another lorry driver, Christopher Kennedy, of Corkley Road in Darkley, County Armagh, was sentenced to seven years in prison for conspiracy to assist illegal immigration after working with Hughes and Nica to transport migrants on the 11 and 18 October 2019.

Haulier Caolan Gormley oversaw the work of Kennedy and worked under Hughes and Nica. He claimed to have been involved with the group only to bring alcohol into the UK to evade duty. He denied being part of a conspiracy to assist in unlawful immigration but was found guilty and sentenced today.

Valentin Calota worked with Nica to transport migrants into London once they had arrived in Essex. He was sentenced to four and-a-half years for his part in the conspiracy.

Alexandru Hanga was another of those onward drivers. He pleaded to single a count of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

Gazmir Nuzi was sentenced to 10 months imprisonment, which he had already served after admitting to assisting the unlawful immigration of two men who had been smuggled into the UK by the group.

Stefan Dragos Damian was part of a wider conspiracy to smuggle people illegally into the UK.

On October 18 2019, a smuggled group of migrants were taken to Collingwood Farm in Orsett where they were collected in a Mercedes van which was registered to Damian.

A day later he flew into the UK and arrived at Luton Airport where he was picked up by Gheorghe Nica.

It was anticipated that a further group would arrive at Collingwood Farm in the early hours of October 23, which would be picked up by Damian.

Work never stopped at conviction

Despite the convictions of the men, the police investigation into them never stopped there.

Alongside the CPS, police’s highly trained financial investigators have carried out thorough investigations into the finances of all involved, most-recently resulting in a confiscation order of more than £65,000 relating to Gheorghe Nica.

At this stage, those convicted have been ordered to pay a total of £283,802.58 as compensation to the families of the 39 victims. Some aspects of that sum remain part of ongoing court proceedings.

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