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| Man held in Northern Ireland over Tilbury migrant death | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A man has been arrested in Northern Ireland in connection with the death of an Afghan man who was found in a shipping container along with 34 other people at Tilbury docks in Essex. | |
| Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers working in conjunction with their Essex counterparts detained the man after a raid on a property in Limavady, Co Derry, at lunchtime on Tuesday. | Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers working in conjunction with their Essex counterparts detained the man after a raid on a property in Limavady, Co Derry, at lunchtime on Tuesday. |
| The PSNI said the 34-year-old man was being held in connection with alleged manslaughter and facilitating illegal entry into the UK. He is in PSNI custody awaiting transfer to England where he will be questioned by Essex officers. | |
| Acting DCI Martin Pasmore, of Essex police, said: "This is a fast-moving investigation which has already involved a number of police forces and law enforcement agencies from across the United Kingdom and Europe. | Acting DCI Martin Pasmore, of Essex police, said: "This is a fast-moving investigation which has already involved a number of police forces and law enforcement agencies from across the United Kingdom and Europe. |
| "I am very grateful to officers from the PSNI for their assistance this morning. We will continue to work closely with all of our policing colleagues as we pursue our investigation to bring those responsible for this crime to justice." | "I am very grateful to officers from the PSNI for their assistance this morning. We will continue to work closely with all of our policing colleagues as we pursue our investigation to bring those responsible for this crime to justice." |
| Thirteen children aged as young as one were among the suspected illegal immigrants from Afghanistan discovered at Tilbury on Saturday. The stowaways – Afghan Sikhs from Kabul – were found after workers heard "screaming and banging" coming from a container while it was being unloaded from a ferry. | |
| The dead man was identified as Meet Singh Kapoor, who was 40. The survivors are in the care of the Home Office after being interviewed by police and are in the process of applying for asylum in the UK. | |
| "We are continuing to provide expert support, along with the National Crime Agency, to the Essex police investigation into the discovery of 35 people in a container at the port of Tilbury on Saturday," said a Home Office spokesman. "This tragic incident is a reminder of the devastating human consequences of illegal migration and we will do all we can to help bring those responsible to justice. All 34 are now in the process of claiming asylum in the UK and we are providing accommodation and support to those who require it while their cases are considered." | |
| The Home Office does not comment on individual cases and any decision will not be announced publicly. | |
| The container was on a P&O-owned commercial vessel, the Norstream, which carries freight between Zeebrugge in Belgium and Tilbury. It left Zeebrugge on Friday at 10pm and arrived at Tilbury on Saturday morning carrying 64 containers, 72 trailers and five lorries and drivers. | |
| The group was found inside a container by port staff just after 6.30am when they were heard screaming and banging. Many were suffering from dehydration and hypothermia. | |
| Separately, police are investigating after a lorry containing 20 people was discovered at a service station in Ilminster, near Taunton. Officers from Avon and Somerset are working with immigration officials following the discovery on Tuesday. | |
| "We stopped a lorry at a service station off the A303 at Southfields roundabout at about 1pm, which contained a group of 20 people who are currently being treated by paramedics for possible dehydration," an Avon and Somerset police spokesman said. "Their health and welfare is paramount as we try to piece together with the immigration authorities exactly what has happened." |