London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jul 31, 2025

UK truck deaths shine spotlight on human trafficking

The discovery of 39 bodies near London has raised concerns over the risks that smugglers force upon desperate people.

British police have opened a murder investigation into the deaths of 39 people, including at least one teenager, found in the early hours of Wednesday morning inside a lorry at an industrial park in Grays, about 32km (20 miles) east of central London.

Police working to identify victims have so far declined to reveal any details about them, but believe the lorry had travelled from the port of Zeebrugge in Belgium into Purfleet on the River Thames in Essex, docking in the Thurrock area shortly after 12:30am local time on Wednesday (23:30 GMT on Tuesday).

"Purfleet is what we call a roll-on-roll-off port," Mark Simmonds, head of policy and external affairs at British Ports, told Al Jazeera. The Calais-Dover route, in comparison, is an accompanied ferry route that sees drivers take their lorries through to the other side; in Purfleet the lorry reaches the UK unaccompanied.

"At unaccompanied ports, the driver will drop off the trailer at the port, the port will load the trailer onto the ship and a different driver will pick it up on the other side and drive it away," Simmonds explained.

A 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland has been arrested on suspicion of murder, while the Bulgarian foreign ministry said the truck had been registered in Varna to a company owned by an Irish woman.


Increasing securitisation

The tragedy has shone a spotlight on the issue of human trafficking and the increasing securitisation of the EU's internal and external borders - just as the United Kingdom prepares to make its next move to leave the bloc.

As Belgium is in the European Union's single market and customs union, the only checks that take place are intelligence-led security controls carried out by the border force or the police. "It's a small percentage of trailers that are checked," Simmonds said.

It's not the first time something like this has happened. On August 27, 2015, Austrian police found 71 bodies - including those of eight children - inside a truck along its A4 highway.

In the UK, the worst known tragedy of its kind took place in 2000, when 58 Chinese people were found in a container at Dover, Kent.

Gabriella Sanchez, research lead at the European University Institute's Migrant Smuggling Observatory, said a lot more deaths may never become known.

"There are no routes, this happens all the time," Sanchez told Al Jazeera. "What law enforcement targets is not even the smuggler, it is the migrant."

While some say the discovery of bodies shows more checks are needed at borders, Sanchez argues that "the more checkpoints we put up, the more alternatives people are going to have to look for, the further they are going to have to walk, the more exploitative the situation they are going to enter into".

About 200 people each month attempt to enter the UK from France, increasingly crossing the English Channel in small boats.

"In order to claim asylum in the UK you must physically be here, unless you come via a resettlement programme. Other than this it has become almost impossible for people to come to the UK in a safe way," said Clare Mosely of Care4Calais, a charity supporting migrants and refugees in Northern France and Belgium.

"As security increases, they just get caught in more and more danger," Mosely told Al Jazeera. "As long as the response is only looking at security and not looking at it from a humanitarian perspective, more people are going to die."

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
×