Murder Probe Over Essex Container Death

17 August 2014, 01:11

Police are expected to question a group of immigrants who were found inside a shipping container at a busy port as they continue their investigation into how they were trafficked into the country.

Essex Police has been liaising with Interpol and other international authorities after a man died and 34 men, women and children were taken to hospital after they were rescued from a container at the Port of Tilbury.

The unit arrived in the UK from Zeebrugge in Belgium early yesterday and police are keen to track its movements before it was loaded on to the ship on mainland Europe.

Belgian authorities believe they have identified the lorry which delivered the container to Zeebrugge after scouring CCTV for clues, the BBC reported, though it is still not known where the lorry came from.

Chief Inspector Peter De Waele from the Belgian police said: "The Belgian civil police is checking all the images and my colleagues are very, very hopeful that we find the truck who put the container in Zeebrugge.

"I think it is very, very important that we have the identification of that truck and also of the driver."

Many of those rescued have spent the night in hospital, and officials are now planning to interview them at a reception centre when they are well enough before they are referred to the UK Border Agencies.

Police said there are "language issues" and interpreters will be brought in, and that only one of those found on the container has arrived at the centre so far.

Officers said they were treating yesterday's incident as a "homicide investigation" after the man's death.

The immigrants, all thought to be from the Indian subcontinent, were rescued after port authorities heard banging and screaming from inside the container at around 6.30am yesterday (Saturday).

One man died and the others were taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia and dehydration.

Among them were 18 who were taken to Basildon Hospital with dehydration and hypothermia, two in a serious but not life-threatening condition.

They have responded well to treatment and the 11 adults and seven children are now "medically fit enough" to be released, a hospital spokeswoman said last night.

Nine people were taken to the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, while a further seven were taken to Southend Hospital, all with the same ailments.

No information has been released about the ages of any of the people or the relationship between them.

Describing them as victims of "people trafficking", Superintendent Trevor Roe of Essex Police said they had been in the container a "significant amount of time" and that now police were working with international agencies to establish their movements prior to arriving in the UK.

He said yesterday: "We understand that the occupants of the container are from the Indian states. Exactly where they travelled from and their intended destination remains unclear.
"My understanding on the update of the 35 people is this - they are recovering fairly quickly in most cases and are being detained under immigration powers and will be taken to a reception centre.

"A handful of individuals might be kept in overnight for observation but my understanding is most of the persons are recovering well.

"Once the victims - and I will call them victims - of this crime, people trafficking - we need to understand the origin of that, and we need to establish through investigation what offences have been committed."

Investigators have begun tracking the movements of the container, which was one of around 50 on board the P&O Ferries commercial vessel the Norstream, and have made "good progress", Mr Roe said, adding: "That is a key line of inquiry."

Mr Roe said the investigation will "span a number of countries".

He said: "It is a homicide investigation... we will be looking to see where the origin and the gangs or whoever may (be) involved in this conspiracy to bring these people in this way over to this country. Clearly we need to try and bring them to justice."

Asked to clarify the nature of the homicide investigation, police said charges could include murder and manslaughter, although there was no suggestion anyone on the container was a suspect.

The superintendent added: "Nothing has been ruled out. We need to speak to the people in the container, where they have come from, what their motivation is and who's involved."

P&O Ferries spokeswoman Natalie Hardy said the container arrived on the quay at Zeebrugge on Friday at 6.56pm and was loaded on to the ferry at 8.07pm, adding that it had been scheduled to leave the Belgian port at 10pm that night to arrive at Tilbury docks at 6am yesterday.

The ship was returned to normal operations yesterday afternoon and left the UK at 7pm bound for Zeebrugge, she added.

James Brokenshire, immigration and security minister, said the incident was a "reminder of the often devastating human consequences of illegal migration".

He said: "We know that criminal gangs are involved in what amounts to a brutal trade in human lives. We also know that illegal migration is a Europe-wide issue.

"That is why we work closely and collaboratively with law enforcement and port authorities, in neighbouring countries, to target criminal networks and ensure that the organised gangs behind trafficking and people smuggling can't operate with impunity.
"This incident is now a criminal investigation. Border Force officers are fully engaged with Essex police and the Tilbury port authorities as the necessary steps are taken towards bringing those responsible to justice.

"Local NHS staff have been providing the adults and children with the urgent care they need."

Shadow immigration minister David Hanson added: "The tragic death at Tilbury is a stark reminder of the human consequences of the trafficking trade and why we need now to take effective action in the House of Commons to bring this to an end.

"It is important that we also continue to put in place effective measures across Europe to identify those who are involved in this trade before individuals reach the UK.''

Belgian authorities believe they have identified the lorry which delivered the container to the Zeebrugge port after inspecting the site and scouring CCTV for clues, the BBC reported, though it is still not known where the lorry came from.

Officers have set up a "casualty bureau" hotline for anyone concerned about relatives. The numbers are 0800 056 0944 or 0207 158 0010 if dialling from outside the UK.