A man has been arrested in connection with the deaths of 39 Vietnamese people found inside a lorry container.

A murder investigation launched after the victims' bodies were discovered inside the vehicle near Dartford Crossing in October 2019 has led to seven people being put behind bars.

But detectives have now revealed that a Vietnamese man was detained at a supermarket petrol station off a main road in Middlesbrough at about 1pm yesterday.

Senior National Crime Agency (NCA) officer Miles Bonfield says the arrest could prove crucial to "identifying those involved in the events which led to the tragic deaths of those 39 migrants" in Essex.

“The individual detained today is suspected by the Belgian authorities of having played a key role in placing at least ten migrants inside that lorry," he added.

“We are determined to do all we can to get justice for the families of those who died, and disrupt and dismantle the cruel organised criminal networks involved in people smuggling.”

The suspect is wanted by the Belgian authorities, who allege he was a member of a people-smuggling network moving migrants through Belgium and France and into the UK in lorries.

Officers also believe he ran safe houses in Brussels, where the migrants stayed before their fatal journey.

He is also accused of organising their taxis to the collection point in France, before they were stowed in the rear of the refrigerated lorry.

He is due to appear before Westminster magistrates for an extradition hearing.

Earlier this year, seven people, including four men found guilty of manslaughter, were jailed for terms totalling more than 92 years for their roles in the events that led to the deaths.

Another Vietnamese national, a man known as Ngo Sy Tai, was arrested by the NCA in December.

He, too, is wanted by Belgian authorities for his alleged role in smuggling the victims. He awaits extradition.

And earlier this month 27-year-old Dragos Damian was charged with conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration and encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence.

He was arrested just outside Milan by Italian police in connection with the deaths.

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