LONDON – The Latest on 39 bodies found in a truck in Britain. (all times local):
8 p.m.
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British police say they now believe all 39 people found dead in a container truck in southeast England last week were Vietnamese nationals.
Detectives initially said the victims discovered near the port of Purfleet were from China.
Essex Police Assistant Chief Constable Tim Smith said Friday that "at this time, we believe the victims are Vietnamese nationals, and we are in contact with the Vietnamese government."
He said police think they have traced the relatives of some of the dead.
A 25-year-old man from Northern Ireland, has been charged with 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to traffic people. Another man was arrested Friday in Ireland, and two others in Vietnam.
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6:50 p.m.
Police in Vietnam and Ireland have made three new arrests in the sprawling investigation into the deaths of 39 people found in a refrigerated truck container in southeast England last week.
Two people suspected of organizing a people-smuggling operation in Vietnam were arrested in Ha Tinh province following reports from 10 families there of missing relatives, VTV television reported Friday.
Col. Nguyen Tien Nam, deputy chief of Ha Tinh provincial police, was quoted as saying the suspects were directly involved in the case in which people paid smugglers to be taken to England and are now feared to be among the bodies found in the container.
Police said the suspects have been organizing people smuggling in the area for several years.