A man has been charged with human trafficking following the discovery of 39 Vietnamese migrants found dead inside a lorry in Grays.

Essex Police says Christopher Kennedy from County Armagh in Northern Ireland has been charged.

The 23 year-old was stopped by officers on Friday on the M40 in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire with regards to the victims found inside the trailer, near the Dartford Crossing in October.

Thames Valley Police then arrested him on behalf of Essex Police.

He has since been charged with conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of people with a view to exploitation and conspiracy to facilitate the commission of a breach of UK immigration law.

Kennedy, of Corkley Road in Darkley, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday.

Two other men have been charged in relation to the case.

Mo Robinson, 25, was charged last month with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and money laundering.

Eamonn Harrison, 22, from Mayobridge, County Down, has also been charged with manslaughter.

He is believed to have delivered the container to Zeebrugge, Belgium, and is also accused of conspiracy to commit human trafficking and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration.

He appeared in a court in Dublin earlier this month charged with the deaths of the Vietnamese migrants.

Police are seeking his extradition and the lorry driver is being held in the Republic of Ireland, so he can stand trial in the UK.

Ronan Hughes, 40, and his brother Christopher, 34, who are both on the run, are being hunted by police on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking in relation to the deaths.

Police have since released the names of all 39 people who were found dead in the refrigerated lorry.

It was revealed last week teenagers were among those dead with 10 of those named by Essex Police under the age of 20.

All of the victims came from provinces in the north of Vietnam.

The youngest two victims were aged just 15, and the oldest a 44-year-old man from Dien Chau.

Eight more people have been arrested in Vietnam.

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