Caledon man jailed over Essex migrant deaths

A CALEDON man has been jailed for his involvement in the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants in Essex in 2019.

Caolan Gormley (39) was found guilty of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration after a trial at the Old Bailey in London.

The bodies of the 39 migrants were found in a lorry trailer near Purfleet, Essex, on October 23, 2019.

Gormley, is the 11th defendant to be convicted in the UK in connection with the deaths.

Gormley was also involved in three previous people smuggling attempts on 11,14 and 18 October that year, but police said there was no evidence he was directly linked to the night of 22-23 October.

He was an associate of one of the smuggling ringleaders, Ronan Hughes, who he had known since he was a teenager, the court heard.

It is understood Gormley, who ran a haulage business, relayed messages from Hughes to one of his own drivers, Christopher Kennedy, who was involved in smuggling the migrants in trailers.

Det Ch Insp Louise Metcalfe, from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, has described the conviction as the ‘final guilty verdict’ in the long and tough investigation.

in a statement Det Ch Insp Louise Metcalfe said, “On October 23, 2019 officers were called to a scene that no emergency services responder could ever have prepared for. The officers who attended that morning will never forget what they saw in that trailer.

“Every person in that trailer had left behind a family. They had been promised safe passage to our shores and they were lied to. Instead, they were left to die, all because of greed.

“It has been my great privilege to have led this investigation. That same privilege belonged to those before me.”

DCI Metcalfe added, “These outcomes, however, do not change the overwhelming sense of loss and sadness. We remember the heart-breaking words of Phan Thi Thanh’s young son, whose poem ‘Beloved Mommy’ left an emotional mark on us all.

“So to the words of the parents of 15-year-old Nguyen Huy Hung, who despaired at not being able to see their talented son fulfil his dreams.

“And the family of 22-year-old Dang Huu Tuyen, who I believe spoke for all of our families when they said: ‘Our hearts are broken’.

“Today, we reflect on the impact this incident has had, both here in Essex but most importantly 8,000 miles away in Vietnam, where families’ loss and heartbreak has played out so publicly.

“Although we are extremely proud of our investigation, and the relationships we have developed throughout that, we truly hope no investigation of this magnitude will ever have to be repeated.”