Carndonagh man enters not guilty plea in people smuggling case

A Carndonagh man is among four defendants who have denied their involvement in a people-smuggling operation which resulted in the death of an Afghan immigrant.
40-year-old Meet Singh Kapoor was found dead in the container at Tilbury Docks, Essex, in August last year.
34-year-old Stephen McLaughlin, who lives in Limavady and originally from Carndonagh, 33-year-old Timothy Murphy of Elmgrove, Derry, 47-year-old Martin McGlinchey of Derryloughan Road, Coalisland and 38-year-old Taha Sharif of Wandsworth Prison all pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to facilitate illegal entry into the UK.
Their trial begins today at Basildon Crown Court.
The group of Afghan Sikh migrants, which included 14 children, arrived in the UK on a ship from Belgium on 16 August. They are believed to have fled Afghanistan after suffering persecution.