Romanian that led 39 Vietnamese migrants to their deaths is arrested

2022-08-11

‘Elusive and sinister’ Romanian accused of being ‘last piece in the puzzle’ of people-smuggling ring that led 39 Vietnamese migrants to their deaths in back of Essex lorry is arrested in Bucharest and may face justice in UK

Marius Mihai Dragici, 48, has been detained by Romanian police in Bucharest
Last month Essex Police made a public appeal to trace the Romanian national
Police believe Dragici is part of network which co-ordinated immigrants’ journeys to the UK

Marius Mihai Dragici, 48, has been detained by Romanian police in the city of Bucharest

Police investigating the deaths of 39 Vietnamese migrants who were found in the back of a lorry have arrested a man in Romania believed to be the ‘final piece of the jigsaw’.

Marius Mihai Dragici, 48, has been detained by Romanian police in the city of Bucharest, said Essex Police.

Last month Essex Police made a public appeal to trace the Romanian national, who is suspected of being part of the network which co-ordinated immigrants’ journeys to the UK.

The victims – 31 men and eight women aged between 15 and 44, all Vietnamese – died from suffocation and hyperthermia in the confined space.

The lorry had been transported by ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium to Purfleet in Essex, early on October 23, 2019.

The force said on Thursday that 48-year-old Draghici has been detained by Romanian police in the city of Bucharest.

It follows the execution of a European Arrest Warrant, and an application is now being made to extradite him to the UK.

The migrants suffocated to death in the container on the back of this lorry in 38.5C temperatures as they crossed the Channel from Belgium to Essex

The victims included 31 men and eight women, ten of whom were teenagers and the youngest of whom were 15-year-old twins

Draghici, who also goes by aliases Marius Mihai Selaru and Marius Lupu and was born in the Romanian city of Onesti.

Most of the defendants were allegedly members of the people-smuggling ring.

Each of the victims, and their families, had paid significant sums of money to an organised criminal group whose members promised them safe passage to the UK and a life there.

However, that promise turned to tragedy and the victims suffocated in the back of the lorry which was being driven by Northern Irishman Maurice Robinson.

So far 10 people have been sentenced for their roles in the deaths. Their sentences total almost 100 years.

Four men aged between 26 and 36 were also jailed in Vietnam for luring the migrants to make trips abroad (pictured, the regions where the victims originated from)

Last month when the appeal was brought forward, Chief Superintendent Stuart Hooper, who has overseen the investigation, said: ‘We have lived up to our promise of delivering justice but there is one final piece of that jigsaw to be completed.

‘We’ll be working with international partners and other agencies in order to make sure our appeal is heard far and wide.

‘We are committed to tracking down every individual we believe to be connected to this most horrific of crimes.’

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe, who is leading the investigation said: ‘The investigation into the tragic deaths of the 39 Vietnamese nationals is the most complex ever undertaken by Essex Police.

‘So far, we have brought ten people to justice and achieved prison sentences of almost 100 years in total.

‘But we made a promise to the families of those who lost their lives in Essex in October 2019 that we would not stop until justice has been delivered in its entirety.’

Police said Vietnamese partners have been briefed on the latest developments in the case.

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