Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of lorry driver Maurice 'Mo' Robinson. Picture by Elizabeth Cook, Press Association

A CO Armagh lorry driver charged with the manslaughter of 39 migrants was part of an international people trafficking ring, a court in England has heard.

Maurice 'Mo' Robinson (25), was remanded in custody after he appeared before Chelmsford Magistrates Court via video link yesterday.

Prosecutor Ogheneruona Iguyovwe said Robinson, whose address was given as Laurel Drive in Laurelvale outside Portadown, is "involved in a global ring facilitating the movement of large numbers of illegal immigrants into the UK".

His solicitor made no application for bail.

Robinson was arrested after the bodies of eight women and 31 men were found in the refrigerated trailer attached to his Scania cab in an industrial park in Grays, Essex, in the early hours of Wednesday.

He is charged with 39 counts of manslaughter of persons unknown, conspiracy to traffic people between December 1 2018 and October 24 2019 and conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration between the same dates.

The human trafficking charge and the unlawful immigration charge both relate to the 39 bodies found in the lorry.

He was further charged with one count of acquiring criminal property and one count of concealing criminal property, both between December 1 2018 and October 24 2019.

Dressed in a grey prison tracksuit, Robinson spoke only to give his name and address and his nationality as British.

Robinson was not asked to indicate a plea and will next appear at the Old Bailey on November 25.

Four other people with potential links to the case have been arrested by police.

An Irish couple, now living in Warrington in England, who were the last known owners of the lorry, Joanna and Thomas Maher, were arrested last week.

They were later released on bail until November 11.

A 46-year-old man from Northern Ireland, who has not been named, was arrested at Stansted Airport on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and suspicion of manslaughter on Friday night.

He was released on bail until November 13.

Twenty four hours later, a 23-year-old lorry driver from Co Down was held by gardaí at Dublin Port.

He was arrested and his lorry was impounded after getting off a ferry on Saturday afternoon.

Gardaí said the man was held over an unrelated outstanding court order.

However, he is understood to be sought by Essex Police as part of their probe into the 39 deaths.

The driver is suspected of having brought the refrigerated trailer in which the bodies were found to the Belgian port of Zeebrugge before it travelled on a ferry to England.

Police in Essex have confirmed that officers are in touch with gardaí. Police are expected to travel to Dublin this week to interview the lorry driver and seek his extradition.

Officers initially said the 39 dead - 31 men and eight women - were originally from China.

However, at least some of the victims appear to be from Vietnam. It is understood they may have been travelling on fake Chinese passports provided by people traffickers based in the Fujian region of China.

The families of several suspected victims have said they believe their loved ones are among the dead.

The names of eight suspected victims are: Pham Tra My (26); Hung Nguyen (33); Anna Bui Thi Nhung (19); Nguyen Dinh Tu (26); Le Van Ha (30); Vo Ngoc Nam (28); Joseph Nguyen Dinh Luong (20); and Hoang Van Tiep (18).

It is not yet known when the victims entered the trailer, where temperatures can be as low as minus 25C if the fridge is activated, or the exact route it travelled.

Belgian officials said the trailer arrived at Zeebrugge at 2.49pm on Tuesday, October 22, and left the port the same day en route to Purfleet.

The trailer arrived at Purfleet at around 12.30am on Wednesday, and was picked up by the cab, known as the tractor, which arrived from Northern Ireland via Holyhead in North Wales on Sunday, October 20.

The lorry left the port at Purfleet shortly after 1.05am on Wednesday before police were called to the Waterglade Industrial Park on Eastern Avenue in Grays at 1.40am.