Horrific news

Has anyone had their nails done in one of those Vietnamese nail bars?
Some of the girls working in them have been found to have been trafficked in and forced to work under slave conditions.

I had heard that some of the lovely people who clean our cars are also working for gangmasters and living in less than ideal conditions for little pay.

Ah Ok, I just didn't understand. Thanks.

To be fair grapefruit, they're not covert.

My local paper has had two reports over the last year of restaurants closing because the staff were discovered to be illegal immigrants. I don't remember whether there was anything about what had actually happened to them.

GG13, genuinely interested how you know.....wouldn't these things be covert?

So they'll get sent back to Turkey and Iran, to be replaced by more … even more business for the traffickers.

Well in our small commuter village (not big enough to be a town), in the last 8 months there have been multiple Home Office /HMRC raids on Chinese takeaways and Indian and Turkish restaurants along with the Chinese nail bar. The one last week resulted in 3 Turkish and an Iranian taken into custody.

This article was written after the 2000 Dover tragedy:

kochan.co.uk/dover-58/

There's almost zilch chance of catching the traffickers, apart from a few small players, unless there's an incredible amount of international co-operation, especially in the countries of origin.

Catching and punishing victims won't stop trafficking.

jennifereccles. I agree with you. It is not about racism but if the traffickers knew there was very little chance of getting away with it they would be more likely to stop. If they stop there wont be incidents like this,

Good for you petra. We need to be vigilant. It's going on right under our noses.

This has got me thinking about a particular nail bar in Southend. I used it once because I couldn't get into my usual one.
I didn't like the place as the technicians didn't communicate with the customers at all!! This was very noticeable as my usual place is so friendly.
I mentioned this when I got into my usual one. She said the owner didn't want his staff talking to customers and then winked.
I know I should have thought more of it, but I am now and I'm going to phone someone.

Mmm, the driver might have been suspicious that the trailer was empty and decided to have a look. It’s not usual to travel with empty trucks. On the other hand an industrial estate at night would be good place to unload “passengers”

If the driver is innocent, I feel very sorry for him. We wondered why the lorry was found in the middle of the night just 1/2 an hour from the port and wondered if it was the driver who found them. Perhaps something made him suspicious.

There are a lot of illegal Chinese and other orientals working in Britain, the sex trade is obvious but any kind of Chinese business will employ agency workers, a fair proportion will be illegal.
It will be happening in your town, below the radar, everything is deniable the agency disappears, only for another to reappear. Call it a mafia like operation, 39 dead is bad for business it was not supposed to happen. The culprits will not be found, they are long gone and their loyalty code means that informants “disappear”.

One thing puzzling me was news yesterday that the driver had said "seeing what had been in the trailer and hearing their screams ?"------------has stayed with him.
Screams ? They were all dead.

Recent reports say that the refrigeration unit was on although it is usually off as it is commonly used for transporting biscuits and mushrooms.

Apparently, the driver exited his vehicle on the trading estate to check the paperwork which was in a folder inside one of the doors.
According to police, he fainted after seeing the piled up bodies and ringing 999, which was approx 35-40 minutes after picking up the trailer.
A judge has given police a further 24 hrs to question him so he is still in police custody.

The BBC is reporting that Essex Police have been given extra time to question the driver. However, it is plausible that he contacted the ambulance service/police. The police were alerted very soon after the trailer docked, so maybe he opened it up and discovered the bodies.

The trailer was apparently rented on the 15th of this month.

There seems to be a lot of "misinformation" on social media. Even reports from the drivers family saying he has been released and is with them, that he found the bodies and called the police and that he has been released without charge.

None of which has been confirmed at this time on the Essex News or Essex Police website.

OK thanks for that Pitt and terribly sorry for all involved.

They didn't freeze grapefruitpip as the refrigeration was off. (I don't know why this didn't arouse suspicion. If they thought it was empty, why wasn't it weighed?)
They would've suffocated because of it being sealed.
As I said before, I know some of the emergency services who were at the scene.

Lets go with your supposition JE that they well educated , professional people who had sensibly saved up £18,000.

Why would they not just hop on a plane and come to the UK?

Why would they abandon everything and freeze to death in a lorry?

I suppose by your logic, they must have been nasty baddies, intent on moving up the council house waiting list and getting their hands on our miraculous benefits?

Given the reality of life in China and the complete lack of freedom and democracy in any meaningful sense I wouldn’t judge any Chinese person for trying to escape. We used to positively welcome those fleeing from behind the Iron Curtain

Unfortunately, you're right Alexa, which is why there will always be a need for robust laws and law enforcement agencies, which must be resourced properly.