UK - 39 bodies found in lorry container, Essex, 23 Oct 2019 *Guilty* #3

[CaptainNancy]

Caolan Gormley sent to prison for 7 years.

https://www.itv.com/news/utv/2023-11-30/people-smuggler-linked-to-39-deaths-jailed-for-seven-years

“Haulage boss Caolan Gormley, 26, from Co Tyrone, was driven by “greed” when he plotted to bring migrants into the UK from mainland Europe three times in October 2019, the Old Bailey heard….
On Thursday, Judge Richard Marks KC sentenced Gormley to seven years in prison.

The judge said the defendant had “succumbed to temptation and greed” when he got involved in the “extremely lucrative business” of smuggling migrants.

Referring to the tragedy of October 23, he said: “But for those deaths, I have no doubt whatsoever that this illegal importation of illegal immigrants would have continued, as would your involvement.”

He noted ringleader Ronan Hughes had twice tried to call Gormley shortly after the bodies were discovered in the back of a lorry container in the early hours of October 23 to let him know what had happened.”

In this trial Gormley’s defence was that he believed he was smuggling alcohol. And yet looking back at reports of Christopher Kennedy’s trial it seems he claimed that his boss, Gormley, had recruited him to smuggle tobacco. Can the prosecution for one trial draw on what was said in another?

 

[CaptainNancy]

Belfast Telegraph:

“Judge Marks told Gormley: “You had built up a good business and were working hard and making good money, but when approached by the ringleader in all of this, Ronan Hughes, succumbed to temptation and greed.”
The judge said Gormley had claimed he was being paid up to £3,500 per load of migrants but the evidence showed they were paying up to £22,500 each.
He added that even though Gormley’s involvement was short-lived, he had been drawn into “a sophisticated and profitable conspiracy, which was well-planned and well-organised” for financial gain….

Gormley was asked why he denied “to the bitter end” being the owner of that phone when interviewed by police.

He said: “I lied about it because I didn’t want to confess (to) a crime I had committed in relation to alcohol smuggling.
I had contacted Ronan Hughes on the phone. At that time the news had come out about what happened with the 39 dead and I didn’t want any affiliation with that.”

Gormley also told jurors he had no reason to question Kennedy’s explanation for being caught with migrants in his lorry on October 14.

He said: “Kennedy said he stopped at the supermarket to buy alcohol and cigarettes on his way to the crossing. At that time he was actually covering his tracks for what had happened.

“He just said they must have got in the trailer while he was in the shop. It’s a very hot spot for migrants in the Calais area. It’s very common. I had no reason not to believe his account.”
Following the sentencing, Russell Tyner, from the Crown Prosecution Service, 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 39 vulnerable people have lost their lives as a result of their greed and recklessness.” “

So Gormley, an experienced driver himself and running a haulage company, claimed to believe that 20 people (as reported in other accounts) got into the back of a closed trailer with (presumably a seal on it) in a public supermarket lorry park without anyone noticing, and without the driver noticing the broken seal in his routine checks on returning to the lorry?
https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/...eaths-jailed-for-seven-years/a1025010761.html

 

[CaptainNancy]

Robinson has been transferred to a prison in NI
Lorry deaths driver Robinson moved to NI prison - BBC News

“Robinson pleaded guilty to 39 counts of manslaughter at the Old Bailey in April 2020 and is currently serving a prison term of 13 years and four months.
His transfer to Maghaberry, a high-security prison near Lisburn, was first reported by the Press Association news agency.
It said it understood the transfer took place in March.

'Crucial element of rehabilitation'​

The Northern Ireland Prison Service has not confirmed the move.
However, in a statement its spokesman said "prisoners serving sentences in the UK may apply to be transferred from one jurisdiction to another under Intra-UK prisoner transfer arrangements providing they meet certain qualifying criteria".
"These include having close family (ie a partner, children, parents, grandparents or a wider supportive family circle) resident in the receiving jurisdiction.
"These arrangements help provide prisoners with easier access to a supportive family environment, which is considered a crucial element of a prisoner's rehabilitation journey.
"Transfers are usually on a restricted basis, meaning that for the purposes of detention, release and licence recall they remain subject to the laws governing the original sentencing jurisdiction.
"For these prisoners release dates remain unaltered." “

 

[CaptainNancy]

Draghici is being deported

Essex lorry deaths: Marius Draghici to be deported to Romania - BBC News

A total of 11 people have been convicted in the UK over the lorry deaths discovered in Essex.

www.bbc.com

“A Romanian man jailed over the deaths of 39 people in a lorry trailer is to be deported without paying a penny to his victims' families.
Marius Draghici, 51, fled the UK after the Vietnamese nationals died in the airtight sealed container as it was transported by ferry from Belgium to Purfleet, Essex, in October 2019.
Said to be a "right-hand man" in a long-running people smuggling ring, Draghici was arrested in Romania in August 2022 and extradited to the UK.
He was jailed for 12 years after pleading guilty at the Old Bailey to 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. A confiscation hearing at the Old Bailey was told he would be deported "shortly".

“A confiscation hearing at the Old Bailey earlier heard that Draghici would not be pursued under the Proceeds of Crime Act - which looks to recover money gained by criminal means.
"Following an investigation, no assets have been discovered," prosecutor Ben Holt said.
"In any event, it is understood Mr Draghici will be deported shortly and therefore no proceedings are to be pursued."
The defendant attended the brief hearing by video link from HMP Stocken in Rutland.
It was understood he would serve the remainder of his prison sentence in Romania”

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Their bodies were discovered in an airtight container after it was transported by ferry from Belgium to Purfleet in October 2019.
A total of 11 people have been convicted in the UK over the case, which saw the victims pay significant sums of money for a "VIP" route into Europe.

Det Ch Supt Stuart Hooper, of Essex Police, said returning their possessions marked "the final act of our most complex and far-reaching investigation ever".

Last November, a further 18 people were convicted in France of linked offences.

Many of the victims hoped to find better paid work in the UK

The Vietnamese men, women and children paid fees rising to £13,000 for what they believed to be a safe passage to the UK.

Essex lorry deaths: Families reunited with victims' belongings

Essex Police says it marks "the final act of our most complex and far-reaching investigation ever".

www.bbc.com

 

[CaptainNancy]

Ronan Hughes wriggling out of paying the confiscation order:

Haulier wins court appeal over land confiscation order

A confiscation order involving Co Monaghan land against the haulier convicted of killing 39 Vietnamese migrants has been quashed by the British Court of Appeal.

www.rte.ie

"A confiscation order involving Co Monaghan land against the haulier convicted of killing 39 Vietnamese migrants has been quashed by the British Court of Appeal.

The court ruled that the prosecution had not proved that Ronan Hughes had a propriety interest in his family's home at Leitrim Silverstream, Tyholland as it was built on land belonging to his widowed mother.

Hughes had been ordered to pay £182,078 (€213,494) to the families of the deceased migrants out of cash and property seized under the British Proceeds of Crime Act.

The court heard that migrants were charged €3,000 each to be smuggled into Britain.

The Court of Appeal heard that his available assets including money in his bank account and the value of his vehicles amounted to £55,265 (€64,800)

The original judge, the Recorder of London, granted a confiscation order for the remainder against the house that Hughes built in the middle of his parents' farmland, and which is home to his wife and children.

This asset was judged to be worth €175,000 (£150,000) based on a 50% share of the house valued at €350,000 (£300,000).

However, Hughes and his mother Catherine appealed the order saying that the house is not saleable as Catherine Hughes would not surrender any part of the title to the land or grant right of way to anyone to access the house.

The Court of Appeal said Catherine Hughes had sworn an affidavit that her son only had permission to build his house and to reside there. There was no agreement that the land upon which the house was built would belong to him."

More about the family and their property :Irish haulier found guilty of manslaughter of 39 immigrants wins appeal against €175,000 asset confiscation
The Crown Court subsequently determined that Mr Hughes benefited to the tune of £182,000 from his criminal conduct. Some assets, including cash and vehicles, amounted to just over £55,000.

But there was an issue as to the value of any interest Mr Hughes had in a property at Leitrim Silverstream, Tyholland, Co Monaghan.

Until his arrest, Mr Hughes had lived at the house with his wife Michelle and their three children. He had paid for the house to be built on land owned at the time by his father. In October 2020 – six months after he was arrested in Ireland – Catherine Hughes was added to the registered title as a co-owner of the land with her husband, Gerard.

Gerard Hughes died in 2021, and the land on which the house was built is now registered as being solely owned by Mrs Hughes.

In 2021, Ronan Hughes stated that he owned the home built on the land in Co Monaghan and owned it jointly with his wife. The house was valued in 2021 at £532,000 (€624,000) by the court’s financial investigator. Hughes disagreed with that valuation. Michelle Hughes produced a certificate to the court that showed the property was valued at €350,000.

Catherine Hughes told the court that while her son and Michelle Hughes were given permission to build on a house on the land, she and her late husband did not intend to provide any assurance that her son and his family would obtain rights to the land or that they could sell the property.



But the Crown Court judge ruled that Hughes did have an equitable interest in the house. The judge ruled that his share was worth £150,000. He then made the asset confiscation order totalling £182,000 against Hughes.

Hughes and his mother appealed the order. Hughes’ lawyers argued that he does not have any present right to sell the house, because the land on which it sits is owned by his mother.
“We are satisfied that giving effect to the judge's determination would result in a serious risk of injustice to Mrs [Catherine] Hughes,” the Court of Appeal noted.

JMOO but if my son had done this I would live in a chicken coop to enable the bereaved families to be compensated.

It was or will be sent back to Crown Court for a new hearing - the EXPENSE this man has cause the taxpayer (in addition to the unspeakable loss of lives, obviously) with his original extradition hearings , imprisonment and now this. Maybe it went to Crown Court and I missed it?

Meanwhile Nica has failed to pay his money and is imprisoned for an extra year People smuggler gets nearly a year extra time in jail for failing to payback over £65,000 of criminal profits in the Essex lorry deaths case | The Crown Prosecution Service

 

[Kittypoo]

Mention of Gormley tomorrow Court 9 of the Old Bailey. Any details?

 

[CaptainNancy]

Mention of Gormley tomorrow Court 9 of the Old Bailey. Any details?

Interesting! I wonder if that was to do with a confiscation hearing?

His haulage company looked pretty much dead on the water by the time he went to trial - based on what was filed at Companies House, anyway.

 

[Kittypoo]

No it mentioned the case of the 39 Vietnamese deaths. There wasn’t any further listing at The old Bailey for today though. Odd 5 years on.

 

[CaptainNancy]

But Gormley's trial and conviction was only just over a year ago.
I wouldn't be surprised if any matters connected to the case were referenced as the 39 Lorry Deaths.
Maybe applying to appeal his sentence?