The mastermind behind the deaths of 39 Vietnamese who suffocated in a container has been sentenced to prison.

Last month, Marius Mihai Draghici, 50, pleaded guilty in the case of the 39 Vietnamese who suffocated to death in a container, facing 39 counts of manslaughter and conspiracy to assist illegal immigration, according to Sky News. Draghici fled after the bodies were discovered and was arrested by police in Romania last August and brought back to the UK.

In a televised sentencing hearing at a London court on July 11, Judge Neil Stephen Garnham sentenced Draghici to 12 years and 7 months in prison, according to Sky News. Garnham concluded that Draghici was a "essential link" in a conspiracy to generate "astonishing profits from exploiting people wishing to come to the United Kingdom".

Mr. Garnham also said that the conditions inside the container, where the victims died, were "indescribable," with "those trapped inside having no ventilation and no way out."

Defendant Marius Mihai Draghici (small photo) and the crime scene.

The victims, including two 15-year-old teenagers, suffocated inside the container while the truck was en route to England. Their bodies were discovered in a container at a port near London on October 23, 2019.

The case has sparked outrage over human trafficking into the UK and the exploitation by criminal gangs. Each victim had to pay up to £13,000 to be brought to the UK.

In 2021, two other traffickers were sentenced to 27 and 20 years in prison, respectively, in connection with the case, while the two truck drivers received sentences of 13 and 18 years.

Additionally, four other men were sentenced to prison in England for conspiracy to facilitate illegal immigration, and another received a 10-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to minor involvement in the scheme.

Belgium has charged 19 people in a human trafficking ring linked to the deaths of 39 Vietnamese who suffocated in a container.