Bail refused for alleged 'ringleader' of group that trafficked 39 migrants found dead in lorry

Ronan Hughes is alleged to have "organised, paid for the travel and controlled the drivers who collected the migrants".

Ronan Hughes. Photo: Essex Police/PA Wire

A Monaghan haulier alleged to be "the ringleader" and "chief organiser" of an organised crime group who trafficked 39 migrants found dead in a lorry container in Essex last year has been refused bail by the High Court pending an extradition hearing.

The deaths of the migrants hidden in the refrigerated trailer, inside which police found bloody handprints, was a "tragedy which rightly attracted public revulsion, outrage and anger", Mr Justice Paul Burns said today.