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Maurice Robinson (27) from Craigavon, was jailed for 13 years and four months after admitting manslaughter and being part of a lucrative, people-smuggling operation.

He had been directed by his boss, Ronan Hughes, to give the migrants air but not let them out when he picked up a container transported from Zeebrugge to Purfleet in Essex on October 23, 2019.

But when he opened the doors of the sealed trailer, he discovered the victims, two aged just 15, had all died in transit.

PACEMAKER BELFAST 08/04/2020
Lorry driver Maurice Robinson has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to 39 counts of manslaughter after the deaths of a group of Vietnamese migrants.
The 31 males and eight females were discovered in a refrigerated trailer on 23 October in Grays, Essex.
Robinson, 25, of Craigavon, County Armagh, previously admitted conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
At the same Old Bailey hearing, co-defendant Gheorghe Nica, 43, denied 39 counts of manslaughter. — PACEMAKER BELFAST 08/04/2020 Lorry driver Maurice Robinson has pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to 39 counts of manslaughter after the deaths of a group of Vietnamese migrants. The 31 males and eight females were discovered in a refrigerated trailer on 23 October in Grays, Essex. Robinson, 25, of Craigavon, County Armagh, previously admitted conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. At the same Old Bailey hearing, co-defendant Gheorghe Nica, 43, denied 39 counts of manslaughter.

Robinson returned to the Old Bailey on Thursday for a confiscation hearing before Judge Mark Lucraft QC.

The court heard he had benefited from his criminal lifestyle to the sum of £50,000 but Robinson only had assets worth a total of £21,262.

They included two accounts, more than £10,000 of equity in a property in Armagh, a 4×4 vehicle worth £2,000 and a £200 watch.

Judge Lucraft gave Robinson three months to get the money from the sale of the house, vehicle and watch to pay £21,262 or face eight months in jail.

The judge ordered the confiscated cash to be paid as compensation to the families of the 39 victims.

Robinson appeared in court by video-link from Lowdham Grange jail in Nottinghamshire.

His lawyer, Tyrone Smith QC, told the court there was no objection to the orders which the prosecution had proposed.

Earlier this year, Hughes, 42, of Armagh, his partner in crime, Gheorghe Nica, 44, of Basildon, Essex, and lorry driver Eamonn Harrison, 24, of Co Down, were also jailed for terms of up to 27 years for manslaughter and people-smuggling.

Three other men were also jailed for their lesser involvement.

The long-running, cross-Channel operation was said to be highly lucrative, with the gang standing to make more than £1 million in October 2019.

Police identified at least seven smuggling trips between May 2018 and October 23 2019, with migrants paying up to £13,000 for a “VIP” service.

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Robinson to pay victims’ families