Vietnamese people smuggler jailed for 15 years over deaths of 39 people

Gang leader Vo Van Hong sentenced by Belgian court over deaths in sealed lorry container in Essex

The Vietnamese leader of a people smuggling gang has been sentenced to 15 years in a Belgian jail over the death by suffocation of 39 men, women and children transported across the Channel in a sealed trailer.

Vo Van Hong, 45, was also ordered to pay a 920,000 (760,000) fine by the court in Bruges, while prison sentences of between 18 months and 10 years were handed to 17 others for their roles in conducting a large-scale smuggling operation between Vietnam and Britain.