Four charged after 29 'Vietnamese' people found in back of van on M5

Asher McShane14 April 2019
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Twenty nine men, women and children believed to be from Vietnam were found in the back of a van in Cornwall.

Police stopped the van on Friday morning on the M5 near Cullompton in Devon following reports the group of people were seen getting in the back of the vehicle after arriving on a boat.

Four men were charged with modern slavery offences after the discovery.

Frank Walliing, 72, from Colne, Jon Ransom, 63, from Kent, Keith Royston Plummer, 62, from Sheerness, and Glen Martin Bennett, 55, from Burnley, were charged with human trafficking and assisting unlawful immigration to a member state.

The men have been remanded in custody and will appear before Truro Magistrates on Monday.

Police were called just before 7.10am on Friday to Newlyn in Cornwall after receiving reports a group of people were seen getting into the back of a van.

Devon and Cornwall Police said: "The van and another vehicle were stopped by officers on the M5 near J28 just after 9am in which 29 men, women and children were located, all believed to be Vietnamese; Police and partners continue to take care of those located in the van."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in