Man jailed for Vietnamese lorry deaths in London court

A member of a people smuggling gang was jailed for nearly 13 years in a London court on Tuesday for the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese men, women and children who suffocated to death as they were being smuggled into Britain.

Marius Draghici was sentenced to 12 years and seven months at London's Old Bailey, having last month pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the 39 people in October 2019.

Judge Neil Garnham told Draghici: "Twenty-eight men, eight women and three children died agonising deaths... as a result of the conspiracy of which you were part."

Draghici is the eighth person to be sentenced in Britain over the 39 deaths, after seven others involved in the gang were jailed for a total of 92 years in 2021.