Lorry cab used by Mo Robinson in Essex trailer tragedy to be sold with money being distributed to victims' families

The Vietnamese victims, aged between 15 and 44, had suffocated in the sealed container as it was shipped from Zeebrugge to Purfleet in Kent in October 2019.

Lorry driver Maurice Robinson, from Portadown, found the migrants dead when he collected the trailer from the docks early the next morning.

Mr Robinson was jailed for 13 years and four months after pleading guilty to 39 counts of manslaughter and assisting unlawful immigration, as well as money laundering.

A confiscation hearing told Robinson that he must sell property, a 4x4 vehicle and a watch, totalling £21,262 to pay to the victims' families.

Mr Robinson's boss Ronan Hughes, of Armagh, had admitted plotting to smuggle people and 39 counts of manslaughter and was sentenced to 20 years.

Furthermore, Gheorghe Nica, of Basildon, Essex, and Eamonn Harrison, from Newry, who had collected the victims on the continent, were found guilty of the offences.

Christopher Kennedy, of Keady, Co Armagh, was jailed for seven years for conspiring to facilitate unlawful immigration.

Others from the UK and Belgium have also been jailed for their role in the smuggling service.

Mark Woods, of Wilsons Auctions Ltd, confirmed that the cab will be sold in "a closed auction" and "will not return to the road".

He said: “The vehicle will be sold to the highest bidder in a closed auction where only vetted Authorised Treatment Facilities – who are registered with the Environment Agency – can bid.

“It will be broken into parts for recycling and it will not return to the road.

“All money generated from the auction will be sent to the 39 Vietnamese victims’ families.”

Essex Police Chief Superintendent Stuart Hooper, said: “We have tried to manage the disposal of the lorry cab in an appropriate way, whilst recognising the independence and authority of the courts, their decisions and processes.

“It was a complex case which gained national and international media attention, but throughout the investigation and court trials, our priority has been, and remains, treating the victims with respect and sensitively offering their families support, to ensure they do not suffer further.”