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Published Sep. 28, 2023, 12:52 p.m. ET
Six Migrant Women Rescued from Refrigerated Truck in Suspected Human Trafficking Operation
Thursday, news broke of a harrowing incident involving six migrant women who were trapped inside a refrigerated truck as part of a suspected human trafficking operation. The women, four Vietnamese and two Iraqi nationals, were rescued after reaching out for help to a BBC reporter.
The frightening ordeal lasted for at least 10 hours, with the women mistakenly believing that they were being transported to the UK or Ireland. However, as they realized the truck was heading south instead, panic set in due to the cold and cramped conditions.
One of the women managed to contact someone outside the truck, who then connected her to BBC reporter Khue Luu Binh in London. In a desperate text message, the woman stated, “It’s so cold, it [the air conditioner] keeps blowing.” She also provided the truck’s GPS location and sent short videos showing the dire situation inside.
Khue Luu Binh quickly sprang into action, reaching out to BBC colleagues and reporters in France. Through their collective efforts, they were able to relay the truck’s coordinates to the closest police station in the Rhone region. French police swiftly located the vehicle on a highway near Lyon and pulled it over.
The refrigerated truck, which originated from Lithuania but had Irish tags, was found to be carrying stacks of boxes filled with bananas. Authorities arrested the driver and launched an investigation into the suspected human trafficking operation.
This incident sheds light on the ongoing issue of migrant smuggling and illegal border crossings. Thousands of migrants attempt to cross from northern France into the UK each year through various means, whether hiding in trucks or boarding small boats across the English Channel.
This is not the first time such a tragedy has occurred. In 2019, 39 Vietnamese migrants tragically lost their lives inside a tractor-trailer on their way to England. They had paid smugglers large sums of money in their desperate pursuit of a better life. Just months ago, a Romanian national was sentenced to over 12 years in prison for the deaths, along with four other members of the human trafficking ring. Meanwhile, the Vietnamese leader of the operation received a 15-year sentence in Belgium.
The rescue of the six migrant women trapped in the refrigerated truck serves as a reminder of the dangers faced by those seeking migration, as well as the need for continued efforts to combat human trafficking and provide safer migration pathways.
With Post wires