A man has been extradited to face charges relating to the deaths of 39 people who were discovered in a lorry trailer on the Essex side of the Dartford Crossing.

Dragos Stefan Damian, of no fixed address, was extradited to the UK yesterday.

The 27-year-old was arrested just outside of Milan on June 10 in connection with Essex Police's ongoing investigation into the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people who were discovered in a lorry trailer in Grays.

He has been charged with conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence and is due at Colchester Magistrates’ Court today.

A murder investigation was launched after the bodies of men, women and children were found on an industrial estate on the Essex side of the Dartford Crossing in October 2019.

So far seven people smugglers have already been put behind bars for jail terms totalling more than 92 years for their role in the events that led to the tragic deaths.

The group pleaded not guilty after the victims were found but a jury convicted them in December following a 10-week trial at the Old Bailey.

In June detectives revealed a Vietnamese man was detained at a supermarket petrol station off a main road in Middlesbrough.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said the arrest could prove crucial to "identifying those involved in the events which led to the tragic deaths of those 39 migrants" in Essex.

To get the latest updates in ongoing cases, police appeals and criminals put behind bars, click here

Read more: All the latest news from Dartford