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| - An Irish court on Friday approved the extradition to Britain of the alleged ringleader of a human trafficking operation that left 39 Vietnamese migrants dead in a lorry. The migrants were found dead in the truck in an industrial zone east of London in October 2019, a tragedy which grabbed headlines around the world. "This court will make an order... for the surrender of the respondent (Ronan Hughes) to the UK," said judge Paul Burns at Dublin's criminal court. Hughes, 40, had been detained on a European arrest warrant on 39 counts of manslaughter and one count of conspiracy to commit unlawful immigration. State lawyers told the court previously he "organised and controlled the drivers". The container arrived in England on a ferry from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge and British authorities have charged numerous truck drivers in a giant investigation. Hughes wore a hooded jumper and a face mask in court and remained silent as the judge delivered his decision from behind a perspex barrier. His legal team had objected to the extradition, claiming there were ambiguities over the territory where the alleged offences occurred and Britain's claim to jurisdiction. "I find no such ambiguity," said Burns. He said "conspiracy may transcend national borders" and cited post-mortem evidence that the migrants had died after the container they were stowed inside entered British territory. "I am satisfied as set out on the basis of the facts in the warrant... the offences, if committed, were in fact committed in the UK," Burns added. State counsel Ronan Kennedy said Hughes had made it known he wished to be surrendered to British authorities "as soon as possible". Hughes was remanded in custody and is due to be transported to Britain within 10 days of the surrender order coming into effect on Monday. Meanwhile on Friday, Ireland's court of appeal rejected a bid by another alleged member of the human smuggling operation to resist extradition to Britain. Eamonn Harrison, 23, is said to have delivered the trailer to Zeebrugge before it travelled by ferry to Britain, where the immigrants were found dead within. In her written decision, judge Aileen Donnelly said the high court approval of his extradition in January had "correctly concluded that all the conditions for surrender to the issuing State had been met". A number of people have been arrested and charged in Britain, France and Belgium in connection with the case, including the driver of the lorry, who has pleaded guilty to manslaughter. jts/dmh/jv
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