Lorry driver for ruthless human traffickers linked to deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants is freed from prison after serving half his seven-year sentence

Daily Mail​

6 days ago

A lorry driver for the gang responsible for the deaths of 39 Vietnamese men, women and children in a failed people smuggling operation has been released from prison after serving just three and a half years.
Christopher Kennedy was at the heart of the complex and lucrative human smuggling operation which for years illegally brought Vietnamese people into the UK from the Continent.
Kennedy, 29, picked up containers with people inside, but not the one in which 39 Vietnamese, aged between 15 and 44, suffocated in at Purfleet, Essex in October 2019.
However, the trial of the ring leaders of the people-smuggling gang heard that Kennedy, from Keady in County Armagh, was a key member and 'in the loop' after the tragedy unfolded.
The Old Bailey was told Kennedy received several phone calls from haulier boss Ronan Hughes soon after the bodies were discovered in one of his trailer's by driver Maurice Robinson.
The jury heard that while Robinson was informing Hughes of the discovery, Kennedy was trying to get hold of him too.
Within 46 seconds of the phone call ending, Hughes rang Kennedy, who was transporting a load of wine to the UK.
Seven minutes later, Hughes called Kennedy again. The court was told the calls were made between burner phones belonging to the pair.
Kennedy said the calls were regarding a 'problem' with his booking to transport the wine by boat from Zeebrugge and that he should go by train.
Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones said: 'I suggest to you, Mr Kennedy, you are making this up and Mr Hughes, dealing with 39 dead unlawful migrants, is not at the time calmly carrying on with you about your load of wine and whether you are on the boat or on the train.
'You have had to dream up an excuse for this call.'
Kennedy insisted he was telling the truth.
Later on Kennedy texted a friend that the trailer in which the bodies were found belonged to Hughes.
He told the friend there 'must have been too many and run out of air'.
His trial in December 2020 heard he picked up containers in Essex which arrived from Belgium. His job was to deliver them to a remote location at Orsett, a 20 minute drive from the port.
Twice he did this in the two weeks before the smuggling operation which went wrong on October 23 2019, which is why he was tried with the other drivers involved.
Kennedy was not charged with manslaughter but was instead charged with conspiracy to assist in unlawful immigration.
He denied the charge and claimed he thought he was transporting cigarettes, but a jury found him guilty and he was sentenced to seven-years in jail.
The Prison Service confirmed to MailOnline that Kennedy was released in January 2025 after serving half his sentence, in line with sentencing guidelines.
A spokesperson said: 'Offenders released on licence are subject to strict conditions and we do not hesitate to send them back to prison if they break the rules.'
Kennedy was sentenced alongside other key members of the gang. Four were found guilty of manslaughter of the 39 migrants, who died 'excruciatingly painful' deaths, according to the judge.
Ronan Hughes, 41, and Gheorghe Nica, 43, played 'leading roles' in the smuggling conspiracy and were jailed for 20 and 27 years respectively.
Two other lorry drivers were also jailed for manslaughter.
Eamonn Harrison, 24, who towed the trailer to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge before their journey to the UK, was sentenced to 18 years.
Maurice Robinson, 26, was given 13 years and four months, having collected the trailer and opened it in an industrial estate to find the migrants dead.
Two of Kennedy's fellow truck drivers were sentenced for conspiracy to facilitate unlawful immigration.
Valentin Calota, 38, of Birmingham, for four-and-a-half years; and Alexandru-Ovidiu Hanga, 28, of Hobart Road, Tilbury, Essex, was given a three-year sentence.
They are understood to have been released.
Sentencing, Mr Justice Sweeney said:'I have no doubt that the conspiracy was a sophisticated, long-running and profitable one to smuggle mainly Vietnamese people across the channel.'
He said on the fatal trip the temperature had been rising along with the carbon dioxide levels throughout, hitting 40C (104F) while the container was at sea on 22 October 2019.
'There were desperate attempts to contact the outside world by phone and to break through the roof of the container,' the judge said.
'All were to no avail and, before the ship reached Purfleet, [the victims] all died in what must have been an excruciatingly painful death.'
In March 2022, the Old Bailey heard Kennedy had made £67,050.65 from people smuggling but had just £6,094.18 in his Bank of Ireland account.
Judge Mark Lucraft QC ordered that the available money should be confiscated and used as compensation to the families of the victims.