Snakehead Mafia
The deadly snakehead human trafficking ring
A Dutch lorry driver and a Chinese interpreter have been convicted over the deaths of 58 Chinese who suffocated in the back of a lorry to Dover in June 2000. Piece by piece we painstakingly map the intricate network of those truly responsible for the trade in human lives - the snakeheads in Rotterdam and London.
One of the two survivors of the tragedy recounts: "Different snakeheads met us along the route, giving us food. In Rotterdam we were met by three Chinese..." This was to be the last stage of their journey to a future of prosperity. Instead they were herded into a container with 700 boxes of tomatoes. "I felt I was going to die... I started grabbing tomatoes off the floor, eating them. We have a saying in China that it is better to die full than hungry". "Translator" Ms Guo's phone number was found on 27 of the dead, showing watertight co-ordination. We link Guo to the murky underworld in London's Chinatown and on to "Sister Ping", the notorious Rotterdam snakehead. We learn she has smuggles 200 people a week to the UK. Failure to pay the smugglers leads to brutal kidnappings. Includes never before seen footage of police storming a flat in West London, hostages shivering barefoot on the floor.
Produced by Old Street Films
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