LATEST the Essex Lorry trial at the Old Bailey - today the jury heard how a warehouse worker found traces of human activity 'disguised' among a consignment of Bakewell tarts and macaroons five days before 39 Vietnamese migrants died in the same trailer.
Truck driver Eamonn Harrison & British-Romanian Gheorghe Nica stand charged with 39 counts of Manslaughter. Valentin Calota & Christopher Kennedy are also said to have been part of a smuggling ring driving truckloads of foreign nationals into the UK.
The accused smugglers had allegedly ferried smaller groups into the country successfully on numerous occasions. The jury were told of the events of the 17th/18th Oct 2019 when a group of migrants were squashed in with a legitimate importation of Bakewell tarts and macaroons.
Today the court heard how the consignment of legitimate goods were rejected after footprints and dirt were discovered all over the goods. In a written statement a warehouse worker said the pallets had been restacked to 'disguise' damaged cases underneath.
The warehouse manager said that when she contacted suppliers in Belgium they confirmed the goods had been packed in the opposite order from how they were found.
What was particularly peculiar for the warehouse manager was the fact that the pallets had been rearranged without the seal to the trailer being broken. In her email to the manufacturers, the warehouse boss said: 'What is weird about it is the fact that the seal was applied."
When a picture of Robinson was circulated in the news after the 39 deaths, the warehouse manager said she spotted him driving the same lorry which had delivered the damaged load.
Cellsite data allegedly located Robinson crossing the English channel to pick up a load of biscuits for importation before meeting Harrison in Belgium and swapping trailers.
Instead of heading directly to the border with the legitimate goods, Harrison spent half an hour 'fiddling around' on the outskirts of an industrial estate in Nieppe, France, it was said.
Heat inside the container during the drop-off had allegedly risen dramatically to 19.5C, which prosecutors claim suggests the presence of human cargo inside.
The trial continues. I'll be back in the courtroom tomorrow, live tweeting.
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