UK Vietnamese truck deaths: People-smuggler jailed for nearly four years over 2019 deaths of 39 victims
- Dragos Stefan Damian was extradited from Italy to face a UK court following the investigation into the deaths of 39 Vietnamese nationals found dead in a truck
- In January, four men were jailed for between 27 years and 13 years and four months for manslaughter and plotting to people smuggle in a linked case
A people-smuggler who fled Britain after 39 Vietnamese nationals were found dead in the back of a truck has been jailed for nearly four years.
Dragos Stefan Damian, 28, was extradited from Italy to face a British court following the investigation into the deaths of the men, women and children.
Their bodies were found in a truck trailer after it was transported by ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet in the English county of Essex, early on October 23, 2019.
Damian admitted he had been waiting at a pickup point to transport the migrants on to London when the tragedy unfolded.
The Romanian national also admitted he allowed his van to be used on previous occasions, the court heard.
Damian said he felt he could not say no to ringleader Gheorghe Nica who had him “over a barrel”.
After the discovery of the bodies, he said that he fled “part in panic and part in fear”, London’s Old Bailey court heard.
