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Just over a month since dozens of dead migrants 

 in a truck in southeast England, the driver has admitted to conspiring to assist unlawful immigration and acquire criminal property. Maurice Robinson 

 to the two charges at a court hearing Monday in London.

Robinson, a 25-year-old from Northern Ireland better known as "Mo," also faces one 

 found dead in his truck's trailer last month. He faces 43 charges in all — including the two he pleaded guilty to Monday and charges of money laundering and conspiracy to commit human trafficking.

The court on Monday did not ask for Robinson's plea regarding these other charges.

Still, the guilty plea marks a step forward in a case that has unsettled the U.K. in the weeks since the refrigerated container was found abandoned in the port town of Grays, in the county of Essex. Inside were the bodies of 31 male migrants and eight females, ranging in age from teens to mid-40s.

Essex police arrested Robinson shortly after the trailer and its grisly contents were reported at Waterglade Industrial Park in the early hours of Oct. 23. 

Since then, authorities have arrested several other suspects and charged one —  Christopher Kennedy, also of Northern Ireland — in what police are investigating as a wider human trafficking ring.

Robinson will remain in custody until his next hearing, scheduled Dec. 13.  

Crime, Law and Justice

Colin Dwyer

Author

Maurice Robinson, 25, pleaded guilty to two charges related to the deaths of dozens of Vietnamese nationals in his truck trailer. He still faces 41 more charges — including 39 counts of manslaughter.

U.K. truck driver admits illegal immigration plot after 39 migrant deaths

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