Co Armagh native Ronan Hughes, the "ringleader" of the people smuggling operation that led to the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people in Essex in 2019, has been ordered to pay £182,078.90 in compensation to the families of the victims.
Essex Police in the UK announced on January 15 that a judge has made a final determination on how much cash is available to be divided between the families of 39 Vietnamese women, men, and children who died in Essex in 2019.
A hearing took place on December 20 at the Central Criminal Court during which the available assets of Hughes were decided upon.
At a previous hearing a month earlier, Hughes gave evidence that the property he had built on land belonging to his parents in Co Monaghan, Ireland was not an available asset for confiscation proceedings.
But a judge at the Central Criminal Court found that the property in question was indeed an available asset and made a confiscation order totaling £182,078.90 all to be paid in compensation.
It means that as a result of the financial investigation into all concerned, a total of £283,802.58 has been ordered to be paid to the 39 families.
Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe, who had led the second part of Essex Police's investigation into the deaths, said on Wednesday: “Following the conclusion of criminal proceedings and the group being sentenced to a total of 117 years in prison, our final act has been to pursue Hughes for his ill-gotten gains.
“We know he – and his associates – treated this operation as a lucrative business and it would not have been acceptable to anyone at Essex Police to conclude our work at this group’s conviction.
“This money – all £283,802.58 of it – will be divided between the Vietnamese families who continue to feel the devastating loss of their loved ones.
“It will do little to help heal their loss, I know this, but I do truly hope it will allow them to begin to move forward.
“I also want to pay specific tribute to our skilled financial investigators whose work in the background with the Crown Prosecution Service for more than five years has made this possible.”
Darren Fox, Specialist Prosecutor of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said on Wednesday: “Hughes was the leader of a gang who profited from smuggling people into the country which ended in 39 people dying in the most horrific circumstances.
“The CPS worked with the Essex police to identify all the criminal benefits of the gang behind this tragedy and what assets they currently hold.
“As a result, over £280,000 has been ordered to be paid to the families of the Vietnamese victims who continue to suffer the terrible impact of this awful tragedy."
Essex Police launched their investigation in the early hours of October 23, 2019, when the 39 men, women, and children were found unresponsive in the trailer of a lorry by its driver Maurice Robinson, from Co Armagh, in Eastern Avenue, Grays.
The lorry had traveled from Zeebrugge in Belgium to the Port of Purfleet in the UK.
Each of the 39 victims, and their families, had paid significant sums of money to an organized crime group whose members promised them safe passage to the UK.
Essex Police said Hughes led the conspiracy.
On the day the 39 victims were discovered, Armagh native Hughes left Thurrock and boarded a plane back to Ireland. He was issued as a wanted man on October 29, 2019, but he remained steadfast in his home in Co Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland, where Essex Police were unable to arrest him without a European Arrest Warrant.
On April 20, 2020, the European Arrest Warrant was granted, and Hughes was brought back to Essex to face the charges against him.
He pleaded guilty to all offences and was sentenced to a total of 20 years in prison at the Old Bailey in February 2021.
As part of that investigation, 11 people were convicted for their parts in the wider conspiracy, with sentences totaling 117 years in jail.
18 people were also convicted of linked offences in France in November in 2023.
In August 2024, a delegation led by Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Hooper from Essex Police and DI Michelle Stoten travelled to Vietnam to repatriate each of the victims’ belongings with their families.
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