Essex lorry deaths: All 39 victims were Chinese nationals, say police

The Essex police, on October 24, revealed that the 39 victims of the lorry incident were of Chinese nationality. The latest update in the investigation points towards the possibility of organised immigration crime which has been a serious issue for a long period. The National Crime Agency (NCA), in its May report, said that there has been an increase in the 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,” said the NCA.

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Report on Organised Crimes

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

Speculation of the driver's identity

The Essex police have also identified the gender of the victims saying eight of them were woman and rest of the 31 were men. They also asked journalists and people on social media to not speculate about the identity of the lorry driver, who has been arrested on the suspicion of murder. “This is an incredibly sensitive and high-profile investigation, and we are working swiftly to gather as full a picture as possible as to how these people lost their lives,” said Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills. “Our recovery of the bodies is ongoing and the post-mortem and identification processes, which will be lengthy and complex, can then begin,” she added.

Identification of individuals

The Essex police said they 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.

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