UK police raids three properties in connection with 39 bodies in lorry

Police raided three properties in County Armagh of Northern Ireland in connection with the Essex case in which 39 bodies were found inside a lorry container. Police said that all the 39 victims are believed to be of Chinese nationality and police is considering the possibility of organised immigration crime. Essex police, in a statement, said that the one victim reported as a teenager was actually an adult woman.

“We have since confirmed that eight of the deceased are women and 31 are men and all are believed to be Chinese nationals,” said the police.

Read: 'Appalled’ By Essex Incident, Receiving Regular Updates: Boris Johnson

Organised Immigration Crimes

The National Crime Agency (NCA) has repeatedly warned people of making risky attempts to enter the country through illegal means. “The past year has seen increasing use of higher-risk methods of clandestine entry. These include the movement of migrants (including children) into the UK in containers, refrigerated HGVs and small boats, at a high risk to life of those migrants smuggled,” read a May 2019 report by NCA.

In 2018, NCA released a report named National Strategic Assessment of Serious and Organised Crimes where they mentioned the frequent use of refrigerated lorries to transport migrants.

“People smugglers continue to favour hard-sided refrigerated lorries to transport migrants to the UK. They also attempt to smuggle migrants in concealments in vans. Opportunist migrants attempt entry in soft-sided vehicles. These preferences are reflective of the capabilities of each group,” said NCA.

Read: Essex: 39 Bodies Found In Lorry, Police Launch Multiple-murder Probe

Police not speculating the identity of driver

Police have arrested the 25-year-old lorry driver, a resident of Northern Ireland, and he remains in custody on suspicion of murder.

“We want to be clear – we have not speculated about the identity of this man, and we will not do so,” said the police.

The Essex police want the bodies to go under “coroner’s process” to establish the cause of death before attempting to identify each individual. “This will be a substantial operation and, at this stage, we cannot estimate how long these procedures will take,” read the statement.

Read: CCTV Captures Lorry Carrying 39 Bodies Moments Before It Entered Depot

Read: Kamlesh Tiwari Murder: Courier Arrested, Zomato Says 'zero Tolerance'

(With inputs from agencies)