An alleged ringleader of a people-smuggling gang has pleaded guilty to the manslaughters of 39 Vietnamese nationals – men, women and children – more than three years after they were found dead in a lorry trailer in Essex. The bodies of the people, who had agreed to pay up to £13,000 each for a “VIP” smuggling service in hope of a better life in Britain, were found in a container transported by ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet. The victims were packed into the crowded container on 22 October 2019 and shipped in pitch-black and sweltering conditions, the Old Bailey heard. They tried to raise the alarm in a desperate bid to stay alive but ran out of oxygen before reaching the UK. In the early hours of the following morning they were found dead. Marius Mihai Draghici, 50, was detained by police in Romania in August last year. At a hearing at the Old Bailey on Friday, he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charges and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. After Draghici’s guilty pleas, the prosecutor, William Emlyn Jones KC, noted the defendant’s basis of plea and said he was “disinclined to accept there was no financial reward” for Draghici’s involvement, but was not able to point to money being exchanged. The judge, Richard Marks KC, remanded the defendant into custody to be sentenced at a date yet to be set. Gillian Jones KC, the defence barrister, said her client would prefer to be sentenced “sooner rather than later”. In 2021, four others were jailed for the manslaughter of the 39 people – two of whom were just 15 years old – with sentences of between 13 and 27 years. Maurice Robinson, 28, a lorry driver, who discovered the bodies when he collected the trailer from the docks, and his boss, Ronan Hughes, 43, previously admitted to plotting to people-smuggle and 39 counts of manslaughter. Gheorghe Nica, 46, who was Hughes’ criminal partner, and Eamonn Harrison, 26, who collected the victims, were also found guilty of the offences. At a sentencing hearing at the Old Bailey, Mr Justice Sweeney said: “I have no doubt that, as asserted by the prosecution, the conspiracy was a sophisticated, long-running, and profitable one to smuggle mainly Vietnamese migrants across the Channel.” The people had desperately tried to find a way out of the trailer and raise the alarm before suffering an “excruciatingly slow death”, the judge said. Other members of the gang were also jailed in the same hearing for their role in the organised criminal operation, including lorry driver Christopher Kennedy, 26, Valentin Calota, 40, and Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga, 31. At the sentencing hearing, the families of the victims in Vietnam and Britain told of their loss and heartbreak. Phan Thi Thanh, 41, had sold her family home and left her son with his godmother. “I heard about the incident from mass media so I called dad in the UK in order to confirm if mum was a victim,” her son said. “I was very shocked, very sad and I was crying a lot.” The father of Nguyen Huy Hung found out about his 15-year-old son’s death on social media. “We were very shocked, trembled, we lost track and awareness of our surroundings,” he said. “My wife had fainted many times whenever our son’s name was mentioned.” The names of the 39 victims (pictured above, listed from top left to right, row by row) are: Dinh Dinh Binh, Nguyen Minh Quang, Nguyen Huy Phong, Le Van Ha, Nguyen Van Hiep, Bui Phan Thang, Nguyen Van Hung, Nguyen Huy Hung, Nguyen Tien Dung, Pham Thi Tra My, Tran Khanh Tho, Nguyen Van Nhan, Vo Ngoc Nam, Vo Van Linh, Nguyen Ba Vu Hung, Vo Nhan Du, Tran Hai Loc, Tran Manh Hung, Nguyen Thi Van, Bui Thi Nhung, Hoang Van Tiep, Tran Thi Ngoc, Phan Thi Thanh, Tran Thi Tho, Duong Minh Tuan, Pham Thi Ngoc Oanh, Tran Thi Mai Nhung, Le Trong Thanh, Nguyen Ngoc Ha, Hoang Van Hoi, Tran Ngoc Hieu, Cao Tien Dung, Dinh Dinh Thai Quyen, Dang Huu Tuyen, Nguyen Dinh Luong , Cao Huy Thanh, Nguyen Trong Thai, Nguyen Tho Tuan and Nguyen Dinh Tu.