A man who was an “essential cog” in a people-smuggling gang that caused the death of 39 men, women and children in a lorry in Essex has been jailed for more than 12 years for manslaughter. The victims, who were all Vietnamese nationals, died after being crammed into a sealed airtight container on a ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet in October 2019. They had agreed to pay up to £13,000 each for a “VIP” service to come to Britain for a new life. Marius Mihai Draghici, 50, fled Britain and was detained by police in Romania last August before being extradited. He was painted as a ringleader by the prosecution and pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey last month to 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. Mr Justice Garnham jailed Draghici for 12 years and seven months at the Old Bailey on Tuesday, telling him he was an “essential cog” in a conspiracy that made “astonishing profits out of the exploitation of people desperate to get to the UK”. The judge said the victims, two of whom were just 15, suffered “unspeakable” conditions with “people trapped inside the trailer with no ventilation and no way of getting out”. The sentence appears to be the most lenient so far to members of the people-smuggling ring. Four others were jailed in 2021 for manslaughter, including the ringleader Gheorghe Nica, 46, who received the longest sentence of 27 years. Bill Emlyn Jones KC, prosecuting, described Draghici as “not just acting as a driver but playing the role of something of a right-hand man to Mr Nica”. Draghici accepted being involved in the last three people-smuggling runs, including the fatal trip. Jones told the court that the victims’ last hours “must have entailed unimaginable suffering and anguish”. The victims were packed into the lorry container on 22 October 2019 in total darkness and sweltering conditions. The 28 men, eight women and three children desperately tried to raise the alarm before running out of oxygen and the court was shown harrowing messages and voicemails. The judge described the “pitiful audio recordings” of those trapped inside “reporting they could not breathe and a growing recognition they were going to die there”. One unsent text message by a young mother read: “Maybe going to die in the container. Cannot breathe any more.” Maurice Robinson, 28, a lorry driver from Northern Ireland, discovered the bodies early on 23 October after being messaged by his boss, Ronan Hughes, 43, to “give them air”, but not let them out. Robinson was given 13 years and four months, while Hughes received 20 years for manslaughter in 2021. On discovering the bodies, Robinson alerted Draghici, Nica and others waiting at a nearby pick up point near Collingwood Farm in Orsett. Jones said gang members “immediately abandoned the plan and melted away in the night”, with Draghici following Nica on a flight from Luton to Romania. Victim impact statements read out to the court set out families’ horror at their relatives’ suffering. Nguyen Huy Hung, 15, had been on his way to live with his parents in Britain and work as a hairdresser. His father said they were “very shocked” and “trembling” after hearing what happened on social media. “We did not believe it was the truth until we saw his body with our own eyes,” he said. “We felt numb and that feeling lasted for many weeks later.” A married couple – Tran Hai Loc and Nguyen Thi Van, 35 – were found lying side by side in the container. The court heard they had paid $7,000 to travel to Hungary to work as fruit pickers and had told their families five days before their death that their plans had changed.