People smugglers facing life sentences for 39 migrant deaths

The court had heard the operation was sophisticated, long-running and profitable, with the smugglers standing to make more than a million pounds in October 2019 alone.

Police and forensic officers at the Waterglade Industrial Park in Grays, Essex (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Four people-smugglers are each facing possible life sentences for the killings of 39 migrants.

The victims, Vietnamese men, woman and children, had hoped for a better life in Britain when they agreed to pay up to £13,000 a head for a “VIP” smuggling service.