A lorry cab used to transport a trailer in which 39 Vietnamese migrants died is to be auctioned off for parts, with proceeds going to victims' families.
The vehicle was driven by Co Armagh man Maurice (Mo) Robinson when the horrifying discovery was made in October 2019.
Robinson was one of four people smugglers jailed in 2021 for the manslaughter of the migrants, whose bodies were found when he stopped the lorry and opened the container in Essex.
Robinson had collected the trailer after it had been shipped from Zeebrugge in Belgium.
The migrants died as a result of airtight conditions in the trailer, and Robinson was sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to people smuggling and manslaughter.
Robinson's boss Ronan Hughes (41) of Armagh, was sentenced to 20 years, while two other men, Gheorghe Nica (43) of Basildon, Essex, and Eamonn Harrison (24) of Co Down, were sentenced to 27 years and 18 years respectively.
The Armagh i website reported that the lorry cab driven by Robinson will be sold at a closed auction by Wilsons Auctions Ltd.
Mark Woods, of Wilsons Auctions Ltd, said: “The vehicle will be sold to the highest bidder in a closed auction where only vetted Authorised Treatment Facilities – who are registered with the Environment Agency – can bid.
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“It will be broken into parts for recycling and it will not return to the road."
He added: “All money generated from the auction will be sent to the 39 Vietnamese victims’ families.”
A spokesperson for Essex Police, which seized the lorry cab in 2019, said: “We have tried to manage the disposal of the lorry cab in an appropriate way, whilst recognising the independence and authority of the courts, their decisions and processes.”
