London, Dec 22, (PA Media/dpa/GNA) – The trial of a haulier accused in the case involving a people-smuggling operation , which ended in the deaths of 39 men, women and children has been delayed until 2023.
The victims, all Vietnamese nationals, were found dead shortly after the container they were in, arrived in Essex on a ferry from Zeebrugge in Belgium, in the early hours of October 23, 2019.
Caolan Gormley, 24, has denied a charge of conspiracy to assist illegal immigration. It is alleged he allowed vehicles in his road haulage fleet to be used to transport of migrants into Britain.
Gormley, who is on unconditional bail, had been due to go on trial next June at the Old Bailey. But, at a hearing on Wednesday, Judge Mark Lucraft QC put the case back to January 31, 2023.
Setting out the difficulties of finding trial slots in the pandemic, he told how defendants in custody took priority.
Gormley, of Kedew Road in Caledon, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, did not attend the hearing, but was represented by his lawyer. Lucraft said he would review the situation at a hearing on March 2.
GNA