Belgian court convicts ring leader in 2019 smuggling tragedy

BRUSSELS (AP) — A local court has convicted 18 people who were involved from Belgium in the 2019 deaths of 39 people from Vietnam whose bodies were found in the back of a container truck in southeastern England. The Bruges correctional court on Wednesday found what it called a Vietnamese ringleader in Belgium guilty and imposed a 15-year jail term. Others were given one- to 10-year sentences while five were found not guilty. It was still unclear if they would appeal the sentence. A British court already found a Romanian mechanic and Northern Irish truck driver guilty over a year ago of the deaths of the Vietnamese nationals who were discovered dead in the English town of Grays.