Migrants discovered in French lorry check days before fatal run, court told

The Lady Justice statue atop the Central Criminal Court, also referred to as the Old Bailey (Nick Ansell/PA)

An “orchestrated check” on a lorry at the mouth of the Eurotunnel in France led to the discovery of 20 Vietnamese migrants, some of whom were allegedly found dead days later.

On October 23 last year, 39 migrants suffocated in a sealed trailer as they were transported from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet in Essex, the Old Bailey has heard.