The police in Ireland are looking into human trafficking after finding 14 people in a shipping container in County Wexford.
The finding happened at Rosslare Europort at 03:00 on Monday morning when the trailer came off a ferry from Zeebrugge.
The Irish police were warned ahead of time by the UK authorities.
A plan was made before they came.
The nine men, three women, and two girls have been checked by doctors and are feeling fine.
RTÉ, an Irish TV station, said they have people from Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, and Turkey.
The police in Cornwall got a call for help from a Kurdish woman who was in a container on the ship. The captain told the crew to search the ship. This was reported by RTÉ.
The migrants are being looked after by a group called International Protection Accommodation Services (IPAS) and Ireland’s child and family agency Tusla is also helping.
The police in Wexford are leading the investigation with help from the Garda National Immigration Bureau.
They are working with the police and customs in the UK, France, and Belgium, as well as Europol and Interpol.
The police are talking to the migrants with the help of translators.
They are trying to figure out how they got inside the cold container.
It was placed in the south of Paris and then driven to the port in Belgium.
RTÉ said they think someone made a hole in the trailer to get oxygen.
A police spokesperson said that the nine men, three women, and two girls were all feeling well.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that people can either ask to stay in the country as refugees or leave on their own.
“We always check to make sure they are okay first. It seems like they are alive and doing well,” he said.
Our next step is to help them go back home if they want to.
“If they want to apply for asylum, they have the right to do so and we will do our best to review their application quickly. “
Date:
Investigation into human trafficking over discovery of migrants in shipping container
