MEMBERS of a million-pound people-smuggling ring could be facing life behind bars for the manslaughter of 39 Vietnamese people.

Aged between 15 and 44, the economic refugees were found dead in the back of a trailer in Essex on October 23 last year. They had suffocated in sweltering temperatures as the airtight container was shipped from Zeebrugge to Purfleet.

The “unscrupulous” gang behind the illegal shipment were motivated by greed as they pursued profits of more than £1 million that month alone.