Vietnamese migrant file

Why did the Dutch authorities not intervene in the pursuit of two Vietnamese teenagers, who later died in the 'Essex drama'? Two years after their death, the trial of a large group of suspects starts in Belgium. Perhaps now there will finally be clarity about the role of the Dutch and Belgian authorities.

Argos again pays attention to the fate of Vietnamese children after their arrival in Europe. Two years ago, we revealed that at least 60 Vietnamese children were missing from shelters that should protect them from human traffickers. After that broadcast, a major investigation was launched into "the nature and extent of Vietnamese human trafficking in the Netherlands". In Belgium and Germany, fellow journalists are also putting the subject on the political agenda. The German colleagues made this documentary (English subtitles) about it.

How could things - despite the attention of politicians and police - end so badly with Hieu and Quyen? For the first time, Quyen and Hieu's lawyer tells their story. And, with the help of Belgian and German colleagues from Lost in Europe, we find new puzzle pieces about the last, fatal journey of the two boys.

More went wrong than was known when following two Vietnamese victims of the Essex drama.

For almost a year and a half, the minor Tran Ngoc Hieu has been traveling from Vietnam to the United Kingdom. When he finally arrived on British soil, he was dead or dying of overheating in a closed refrigerated van, which he shared with 38 others.

In October 2019, 39 dead bodies were found in a refrigerated truck in Essex - near London. The victims are all from Vietnam. They died from overheating and suffocation. Two of them, Tran Ngoc Hieu (17) and Dinh Dinh Thai Quyen (just 18), turn out to have run away from the Protected Shelter in The Netherlands near Maastricht twelve days earlier.

The Vietnamese boys Hieu and Quyen died in the smuggling drama in Essex. During their last trip they were under observation by the Dutch police all the way into Belgium, but they did not intervene. This should have been, say two professors.

Interview with investigative journalist Adrian Bartocha on human trafficking with Vietnamese minors in Europe. He and Jan Wiese of the RBB, the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg, saw the Argos investigation into the disappearance of dozens of Vietnamese children in the Netherlands and started their own investigation. They discovered that many more Vietnamese children have disappeared in Germany and that there is organized human trafficking.

“Vietnamese criminal organizations are active all over Europe”. This is what Carsten Moritz, director of the human trafficking department of the Bundeskriminalamt (BKA), the federal criminal investigation department of Germany, says in an interview with the RBB, the Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg. The groups are involved in human trafficking on a large scale. "But that smuggling serves a purpose: labor exploitation." In many cases this is human trafficking, says the BKA chief. According to him, there are also minors among the victims. Moritz responds to research that the RBB has conducted in recent months together with Argos (VPRO / HUMAN). Tonight on Germany 1 a television documentary about this.

For years, professional Vietnamese human trafficking networks have been operating almost unmolested in Germany. They bring their compatriots there and exploit them: in nail salons or massage parlors, but increasingly also in forced prostitution or in drug production. In most cases this crime goes undetected. According to official information, there are hardly any Vietnamese victims of human trafficking in Germany. The real dimension of the problem remains hidden from the general public. This is also due to the fact that the Federal Republic has not yet followed up on its international obligations. A reportage from Adrian Bartocha and Jan Wiese.

After our journalists revealed last year that 60 Vietnamese children vanished from a protected shelter that should have protected them from being trafficked, the entire House of Representatives demanded an investigation. Argos zooms in on the main findings of the report. How thorough was the research done? What has been discovered? And has that been neatly presented by the State Secretary?

In a letter to the House of Representatives, the State Secretary pretends that Vietnamese minors use protected asylum centers as hostels. Anyone who reads the underlying report sees a failing approach to human smuggling and human trafficking. Dutch Rapporteur Mensenhandel says The Netherlands acts too little with signals of human trafficking.

Not one, but two victims of the truck drama in Essex stayed in a sheltered shelter in the Netherlands prior to their death. This has emerged from an identification investigation by the police, the COA (Central Organ for Asylum-seekers intake) confirms to Argos and NRC Handelsblad when asked.

Vietnamese minors leave the protected shelter in the Netherlands with an unknown destination. Two of them tragically died in late October 2019 in a refrigerated truck in Essex, UK, together with 37 other migrants. Researchers see signs of human trafficking and smuggling. How could this happen? Our journalists paid a visit to one of these shelters.

The Dutch government has known for over five years that Vietnamese children go missing from protected shelters. Signs of human smuggling and trafficking have also been clearly reported to authorities. This is shown by quarterly reports of protected reception centres Jade and Xonar, that Argos and Lost in Europe have obtained.

The Dutch government has known for over five years that Vietnamese children go missing from protected shelters. Signs of human smuggling and trafficking have also been clearly reported to authorities. This is shown by quarterly reports of protected reception centres Jade and Xonar, that Argos and Lost in Europe have obtained.

Young Vietnamese, waiting for their onward transport to West Germany, France, Holland or the UK were found during a large raid conducted by a massive police force in numerous properties in the greater Berlin area. It's one of the largest proceedings against human smuggling that has entered its decisive phase. The officers searched 21 "Safe Houses" in which the smugglers house smuggled Vietnamese. There they also secured data carriers and other documents.

It is the end of November 2016 when Hong, Bao, Huong and Thi get into a car with a Dutch registration number in a Parisian suburb. Since then there has been no trace of them '. What does the disappearance of young Vietnamese have to do with Dutch cannabis cultivation?

One of the 39 Vietnamese found dead in a refrigerated truck in Essex, England, stayed in the Netherlands prior to his crossing. It concerns a minor boy who "with unknown destination" disappeared from the protected shelter. A spokesperson for the COA (Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers) confirms this to our journalists at Argos.

Several of the Vietnamese victims who were found lifeless in a refrigerated container in Essex, England in October, had been in Berlin before their death, Dutch investigative journalists at Argos and rbb24 Recherche find. Not an isolated case: in the past few years, the smuggling of young Vietnamese into Western Europe has increased significantly.

The Essex drama highlights how the UK has become an epicentre for trafficked Vietnamese in Europe. For years, Vietnamese have been trafficked into the UK in trucks arriving from Belgium or France – so this latest incident would seem like nothing out of the ordinary. But what has shifted is the age of the people involved – they are younger and the tactics of their traffickers are more dangerous.

Dirt cheap Vietnamese nail salons are sprouting like mushrooms in Belgium. But a dark reality hides behind the shiny display cases, according to research by Lost in Europe journalists at Knack, De Standaard and VRT NWS. Some salons are a link in an international chain of modern slavery.

Cheap nail salons in Belgium appear to be places for human trafficking, undeclared work and modern slavery. Young Vietnamese, often underage, work for a starvation wage. To get to Europe, they paid thousands of smuggling euros to criminal networks. Our Lost in Europe colleagues in Belgium investigated the growing world of Vietnamese nail salons.

Since 2017, 44 Vietnamese minors have disappeared in Belgium from the Belgian reception centers for unaccompanied minors. The Federal Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers (Fedasil) confirms this to VRT NWS, Knack and De Standaard. Nobody knows where the young people ended up.

Since 2017, 44 Vietnamese young people vanished from our Observation and Orientation Centers (OOC)', says Fedasil. 'All went missing, but 1 young person who received adapted shelter as a potential victim of human trafficking. The vast majority of these youngsters do not apply for asylum. The majority disappears within 24 hours of arrival.'

32 Vietnamese children and adolescents are currently missing in Brandenburg. Investigators suspect internationally operating human traffickers behind it. The Berlin Dong Xuan Center apparently plays an important role in the network. By Adrian Bartocha

Smuggled in, picked up, disappeared - nationwide there is a lack of clarity about the fate of illegally immigrated children from Vietnam. Apparently there is an international smuggling network behind it.

The findings of the investigation raise serious questions about the efforts of EU states to prevent the trafficking of vulnerable children, and highlight the failings of the British and Dutch authorities to care for unaccompanied minors properly. There are more Vietnamese children than any other nationality identified or suspected of being trafficked into the UK.

At least sixty Vietnamese children disappeared after their arrival in the Netherlands. For the past five years, they had been placed in protected reception centers for unaccompanied minors who are at high risk of becoming victims of human trafficking.