The home of a people smuggler responsible for the deaths of 39 Vietnamese men, women and children in Essex in 2019 has been confiscated as a judge ordered the proceeds be divided between the victims’ families. A hearing took place on December 20 at the Old Bailey during which the available assets of conspiracy ringleader Ronan Hughes were decided upon.
At a previous hearing a month earlier, Hughes gave evidence that the property he had built on land belonging to his parents in Ireland was not an available asset for confiscation proceedings.
But a judge at the Central Criminal Court found that the property in question was indeed an available asset and made a confiscation order totalling £182,078.90 all to be paid in compensation. It means that as a result of the financial investigation into all concerned, a total of £283,802.58 has been ordered to be paid to the 39 families.
The 39 victims were found dead in an air-tight container in the back of the lorry in Essex 2019, with causes of death from suffocation, hyperthermia (overheating) and carbon monoxide poisoning
(Image: Essex Police)
Ronan Hughes, 45, led the conspiracy which tragically ended with the victims’ deaths in Essex in October 2019. On the day the 39 bodies were discovered, Hughes left Thurrock and boarded a plane back to Ireland. He was issued as a wanted man on 29 October 2019, but he remained steadfast in his home in County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland, where officers were unable to arrest him without a European Arrest Warrant.
On April 20, 2020, the European Arrest Warrant was granted, and Hughes was brought back to Essex to face the charges against him. He pleaded guilty to thirty-nine offences of manslaughter and one offence of assisting unlawful immigration for his part in organising the illegal immigration and was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment in February 2021.
Six other men were also jailed for their role in facilitating the smuggling and their criminal assets seized. The driver of the vehicle, Maurice Robinson, 30, pleaded guilty to 39 counts of manslaughter, assisting unlawful immigration as well as acquiring criminal property offences and imprisoned for 13 years and 4 months.
Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe, who had led the second part of the investigation, said: “Following the conclusion of criminal proceedings and the group being sentenced to a total of 117 years in prison, our final act has been to pursue Hughes for his ill-gotten gains.
“We know he – and his associates – treated this operation as a lucrative business and it would not have been acceptable to anyone at Essex Police to conclude our work at this group’s conviction. This money – all £283,802.58 of it – will be divided between the Vietnamese families who continue to feel the devastating loss of their loved ones.
“It will do little to help heal their loss, I know this, but I do truly hope it will allow them to begin to move forward. I also want to pay specific tribute to our skilled financial investigators whose work in the background with the Crown Prosecution Service for more than five years has made this possible.”
Darren Fox, Specialist Prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), added: “Hughes was the leader of a gang who profited from smuggling people into the country which ended in 39 people dying in the most horrific circumstances. The CPS worked with the Essex police to identify all the criminal benefits of the gang behind this tragedy and what assets they currently hold.
“As a result, over £280,000 has been ordered to be paid to the families of the Vietnamese victims who continue to suffer the terrible impact of this awful tragedy. In the last five years, over £450 million has been recovered from CPS obtained Confiscation Orders, ensuring that thousands of convicted criminals cannot profit from their offending. £88m of that amount has been returned to victims of crime, by way of compensation.”
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