United Kingdom police investigating 39 lorry deaths raid two addresses

The driver is believed to have contacted authorities about the situation, and Essex police have said that it's "unlikely" he had any knowledge of the 39 individuals hiding in the container.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has expressed his condolences to the victims and their families, who at this stage at have not been publicly identified. Local magistrates have given police an extra 24 hours to question him.

Family and friends say he is innocent, and claim he called emergency services when he discovered the bodies on Wednesday morning. "I heard the container was refrigerated - the temperature was -25C and the bodies were frozen and had been dead for some time". However I anticipate that this could be a lengthy process.

Essex Police headed to the Waterglade Industrial Park, Eastern Avenue, Grays, on the other side of the River Thames, where the bodies were found.

Its red cab unit, which had "Ireland" emblazoned on the windscreen along with the message "The Ultimate Dream", entered Britain via Holyhead in north Wales, having started its journey in Dublin, police said.

Two properties connected to the Northern Irish truck driver were searched on Wednesday night.

"We might not have all the answers straight away". "We don't even know which road was followed by the truck in Belgium".

She said: "We have partnerships in place but those efforts need to be rebooted, this is an worldwide criminal world where many gangs are making lots of money and until states act collectively to tackle that it is going to continue".

In another update to the case, investigators now say the truck and trailer did not enter the United Kingdom together.

Police have said tracking route used "will be a key line of inquiry".

It was picked up by a tractor unit that allegedly originated in Northern Ireland and left the port around 1:05 am.

Seven men were jailed by a Dutch court for their role in the human-smuggling operation that led to the young people suffocating and the Dutch lorry driver was jailed for 14 years.

"When he opened the container up and saw all the dead bodies, he was absolutely horrified - as anyone would be".

A man has arrested after the bodies of 39 people were found in a truck in Essex.

With the help of immigration officials and the National Crime Agency (NCA), Essex Police are leading biggest murder probe in Britain since the 2005 terror attacks in London that killed 52 people. Next year, eight illegal migrants died in a shipping container which had been unloaded at an industrial estate in Wexford in Ireland after a crossing from Zeebrugge. "Since they are unable to release themselves, the risks are high, and there have been numerous recorded deaths".

2014: An Afghan migrant was found dead at Tilbury Docks, Essex.