A MAN from Co. Armagh who was jailed over the deaths of 39 Vietnamese men, woman and children in a people-smuggling operation has had his sentence extended.
Ronan Hughes, 45, was sentenced to 20 years in February 2021 after pleading guilty to 39 counts of manslaughter and one count of conspiring to assist unlawful immigration.
However, he has now been handed an additional 16 months in prison after failing to fully pay a Confiscation Order.
"Ronan Hughes led an unscrupulous network of organised criminals that sought to profit from smuggling desperate people," said Heather Chalk of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).
"It is devastating that 39 vulnerable people lost their lives because of their greed and recklessness."
Hughes was taken back to court last year and ordered to pay back a Confiscation Order totalling £182,078.90, to be paid in compensation to the victims' families.
However, having only paid back a little more than £58,000, the CPS Proceeds of Crime Division asked the court to impose an additional sentence.
On Tuesday, with Hughes still owning £123,698 (plus interest) a judge at Folkestone Magistrates' Court ordered him to serve an additional year and four months.
"Hughes failed to pay back his Confiscation Order in full and, as a result, he will be serving additional time in jail," said Ms Chalk.
Conspiracy
On October 23, 2019, 39 Vietnamese nationals aged between 15 and 44 were found unresponsive in the back of a lorry in Essex.
They had died of oxygen starvation after being sealed in the air-tight container for nearly 12 hours.
The lorry had travelled from Zeebrugge in Belgium to the Port of Purfleet in Essex.
The CPS says Hughes was the ringleader of the operation, however, several other people have been convicted and sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy.
They include Eamonn Harrison, 28, from Co. Down, who collected the victims in northern France before dropping the container at Zeebrugge.
He was found guilty of people-smuggling and 39 counts of manslaughter in December 2020 and sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Maurice Robinson, 30, from Co. Armagh picked up the trailer in Purfleet and discovered the bodies.
He was sentenced to 13 years and four months in January 2021 after pleading guilty to manslaughter and people smuggling.
At the same time, 28-year-old Christopher Kennedy from Co. Armagh was jailed for seven years for his part in the wider smuggling operation, having been found guilty of conspiracy to assist in unlawful immigration.
Caolan Gormley, 28, from Co. Armagh was sentenced in November 2023 to seven years after he was found guilty of conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.
While not directly involved in the events of that night, an investigation by Essex Constabulary revealed he was a member of the wider conspiracy to assist in people smuggling.
See More: Essex Lorry Deaths, People Smuggling, Ronan Hughes
