Lorry drivers fear the criminal gangs who transport migrants across Europe are “not going to stop anytime soon”. 

Today, Gardaí announced they had begun a human trafficking investigation after 14 people were discovered in a shipping container bound for Rosslare in County Wexford.

The nine men, two women and two children have been medically assessed and found to be in good health.

Speaking to Henry McKean for The Hard Shoulder, truck driver Mick at Dublin Port said he had no doubt that “crime lords are behind all this”.

“It’s human trafficking and they’re making a pile of money out of this,” he said.

“So, they’re not going to stop anytime soon.”

Mick has been driving trucks for 35 years but still worries that he might accidentally end up illegally transporting migrants.

He describes it as “very easy” to break into his trailer and many drivers don’t hear people breaking in because they are asleep.

“Your driver could be picking up a trailer in France and it’s locked and sealed. You don’t know what’s in it,” he said.

“You’ve got your paperwork saying there’s foodstuffs in it and it’s only when you get to the farside and if they pick up anything going through the port and open it, that you actually realise that there’s people in it.

“You don’t know.”

'They’re desperate people'

His concerns were echoed by a Welsh lorry driver who told Newstalk migrants would always find a way to get to their desired destination.

“I believe they will with the help of the gangs that take the money off them,” he said.

“They’re desperate people [and] they’re just looking for another way of life.

“I don’t think they have much choice.”

Lorry driver at Dublin Port. Image by: Henry McKean. 10/01/2024

In his 40 years driving lorries, he has picked up migrants by accident before and said he is especially careful when he arrives in Calais to cross the Channel to England.

“I was coming from France into Britain,” he said.

“They managed to get on just outside the port while I was waiting to get the tickets and there was five of them on there.

“Luckily, they found them on the French side and they just took them away.”

Anyone caught transporting migrants risk a fine and technology means officials can spot migrants hiding in lorries using heat sensors.

As a result, many traffickers now offer migrants the chance to travel to Britain by dinghy - a dangerous way to travel through a busy shipping lanes and in August at least six people drowned after one capsized.

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Main image: Lorry driver at Dublin Port. Image by: Henry McKean. 10/01/2024