THE story of the 39 bodies discovered in a lorry trailer, and Essex Police's investigation into the deaths, is to be told on BBC One's Crimewatch.

In the early hours of 23 October 2019, the Vietnamese men, women and children were found unresponsive in the trailer of a lorry by its driver Maurice Robinson, in Eastern Avenue, Grays.

With the five-year anniversary approaching, Crimewatch is covering the story of that final journey and the resulting complex investigation, as part of a feature shining a spotlight on the dedicated teams bringing criminals to justice.

The episode will air on BBC One at 9.30am this evening (Wednesday, 9 October).

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

The Essex Police investigation, which was carried out alongside a spectrum of public, private and international partners, has been far-reaching and has uncovered an international human trafficking conspiracy, which has ultimately led to the conviction of 11 people in the UK as well as 18 people in France.

The total sentences handed down to those involved was 117 years in jail.

Detective Chief Inspector Louise Metcalfe said: "This group of men worked together to smuggle people illegally into the UK, with some receiving significant payment for their services. There can be no greater demonstration of how dangerous the organised criminal networks involved in people smuggling can be than this tragic case.

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"These 39 people, all mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, sons and daughters, died in the most inhumane way, because of the actions of this greed-driven gang of people smugglers."