Essex Police on Sunday released on bail three people arrested in connection with the discovery of 39 bodies in a truck trailer, as investigations into one of the UK’s worst human trafficking tragedies focus on the likelihood most of the dead were from Vietnam.
The release of those arrested on Friday — a 38-year-old man and 38-year-old woman both detained in Warrington and a 46-year-old man from Northern Ireland arrested at Stansted airport — came a day after the force laid the first charges in the investigation. Maurice Robinson, 25, from Craigavon, who was driving the truck hauling the trailer, was charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering.
Essex Police made efforts at the weekend to gain the confidence of the Vietnamese community both in the UK and people in Vietnam as evidence mounted that the 31 men and eight women were from a concentrated area in the centre of the country.