NI man on lorry manslaughter charges facing extradition to UK

A 40-year-old NI man facing extradition to the UK on 39 charges of manslaughter and a charge of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration has been remanded in custody at the High Court in Dublin.
By The Newsroom
Published 21st Apr 2020, 16:51 BST
Police officers in a forsensic suits are photographed at the scene with a lorry, believed to have originated from Bulgaria, and found to be containing 39 dead bodies, inside a police cordon after being discovered at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, east of London, on October 23, 2019Police officers in a forsensic suits are photographed at the scene with a lorry, believed to have originated from Bulgaria, and found to be containing 39 dead bodies, inside a police cordon after being discovered at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, east of London, on October 23, 2019
Police officers in a forsensic suits are photographed at the scene with a lorry, believed to have originated from Bulgaria, and found to be containing 39 dead bodies, inside a police cordon after being discovered at Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, east of London, on October 23, 2019

Ronan Hughes, 40, from Silverstream, Tyholland in Co Monaghan, was detained on Monday following the execution of a European Arrest Warrant in the Irish Republic.

He faces 39 charges of manslaughter and a charge of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration in connection with the deaths of 39 migrants found in a refrigerated lorry container in Essex.

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Hughes was arrested yesterday in Co Monaghan by police in the Republic of Ireland on foot of a European Arrest Warrant.

Essex Police said in a statement that the UK’s Crown Prosecution Service had authorised manslaughter charges against him and immigration offences.

Hughes will apply for bail next Wednesday and has been remanded in custody until then.

His extradition hearing is due to be held in Dublin on May 1.

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Hughes (pictured) said nothing during the short hearing in Dublin’s Central Criminal Court yesterday morning apart from “thank you judge”.

Judge Paul Burns said he considered the warrant to have been duly executed and was satisfied the person in court is the person it had been issued for.

He said Mr Hughes had been informed of his rights to surrender to the request to be extradited.

He said he would seek more information about Ronan Hughes’ alleged involvement in the offences and indicated that he would be prepared to hear a bail application on April 29.

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The 39 Vietnamese nationals were found in a lorry container parked on an industrial estate in Grays on October 23 last year. Ten teenagers, including two 15-year-old boys, were among those found dead.

On April 8, Maurice Robinson, 25, of Craigavon, Co Armagh pleaded guilty to 39 counts of manslaughter at the Old Bailey in London.

He previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and acquiring criminal property at the same court on November 25.

He is due to be sentenced at a later date.

In February, Eamonn Harrison, of Mayobridge, Northern Ireland, was granted permission to appeal against his extradition to the UK under the terms of a European Arrest Warrant issued by Essex Police.

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The 22-year-old is facing 39 manslaughter charges, one of human trafficking and one of assisting unlawful immigration.

A further hearing in Harrison’s case will be held in Dublin on May 7.

An inquest into the deaths opened last month when a coroner offered his “deep condolences” to relatives of the victims.

Lincoln Brookes, the area coroner for Essex, said the 39 deaths were “clearly on any view a tragedy on a large scale and a personal tragedy to each of the families”.