LONDON — The driver of the tractor-trailer in which the bodies of 39 Vietnamese people were found dead in southeastern England last month pleaded guilty on Monday in a London court to charges related to the case.

The driver, Maurice Robinson — a 25-year-old from Northern Ireland who is one of three people to have been charged in the case — pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and acquiring criminal property, the Essex Police said in a statement.

He also faces one count of manslaughter for each of the 39 victims, and one count each of transferring criminal property and conspiracy to traffic people.

The case sent shock waves internationally when the bodies were discovered on Oct. 23 in a refrigerated truck in an industrial park in Grays, an Essex town 25 miles east of London. This month, the police identified all of the 39 dead as Vietnamese citizens, the youngest of whom was 15.



Mr. Robinson’s case will resume in court on Dec. 13.