25/11/2019

NI Lorry Driver Admits Plotting To Assist Illegal Immigration

Northern Irish lorry driver Maurice Robinson has pleaded guilty to plotting to assist illegal immigration.

The 25 year-old from Co Armagh is accused over the deaths of 39 people, who were found in the back of a refrigerated lorry in Essex last month.

He appeared at the Old Bailey today, Monday 25 November, via video link and pleaded guilty to conspiring with others to assist illegal immigration between 1 May 2018 and 24 October 2019.

The charge states that he plotted with others to do "an act or series of acts which facilitated the commission of a breach of immigration law by various persons".

Mr Robinson also admitted to acquiring criminal property, namely cash, on the same dates.

He was not asked to plead to the 39 charges of manslaughter against him.

The bodies of the eight females and 31 males discovered in the trailer were later found to be Vietnamese nationals.

The defendant, of Laurel Drive in Craigavon, was remanded in custody until a further hearing on December 13.



(JG/CM)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

21 June 2011
Illegal Workers Held In Belfast Raids
Two illegal workers have been caught in planned raids undertaken by UK Border Agency officers in Belfast. The enforcement operation was carried out as part of a nationwide campaign to tackle immigration crime. Officers targeted two restaurants, The Four Seasons in Dublin Road, Belfast and China, China in University Street, Belfast last Thursday.
17 September 2013
Two Men Arrested For Overstaying Their Visas
Two men have been arrested following a planned immigration raid at a Chinese takeaway in Newcastle, Co Down. A Chinese man, 53, and a Filipino man, 24, working in the Wok Box, were discovered by Home Office officials. Both men were found to have overstayed their visas.
20 July 2009
Border Watch Office Creates NI Jobs
Over two dozen jobs are being created with the opening of a new Belfast office of the UK Border Agency. Billed as a 'one stop shop' for immigration services in Northern Ireland, it was officially opened on Monday in south Belfast. The facility will handle asylum claims, enforce immigration law and enrol foreign nationals on to the ID cards scheme.
08 November 2021
Man Jailed In Connection With Major Cannabis Cultivation Operation
A 44-year-old man has been sentenced to a total of 37 years for a range of offences from cultivating cannabis to assisting illegal immigration. At Laganside Crown Court, Luong Bui was sentenced to a total of 15 years and will serve 7 ½ years in prison and 7 ½ years on licence.
30 March 2023
Illegal Immigration Bill Shows Govt's 'Lack Of Understanding'
The planned Illegal Immigration Bill highlights the UK government's "lack of understanding" of the island of Ireland, Alliance Party MP Stephen Farry has said. The UK is in the process of introducing an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), similar to the US ESTA visa waiver, for people who do not need a UK visa.