A PEOPLE smuggler responsible for the deaths of 39 migrants in a lorry has been ordered to pay ￡65,000 in compensation to the victims’ families.

       Gheorghe Nica, 46, must cough up in three months or face another year in prison.

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       Gheorghe Nica must cough up ￡65,000 in compensation in three months or face another year in prison Credit: PA

       He got 27 years in 2021 for manslaughter.

       The Romanian fixer was part of a gang paid to smuggle migrants into Britain in lorries.

       In 2019, 39 Vietnamese suffocated in a container on a run from Belgium to Purfleet, Essex.

       Yesterday, an Old Bailey judge heard that Nica, of Basildon, Essex, made ￡186,587.65 from the trips.

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       Judge Mark Lucraft KC made a confiscation order for ￡65,157.65.

       He said: “I direct the sum be paid as compensation to the families of those killed in this terrible tragedy.”

       Darren Fox from the CPS said: "Nica profited from smuggling people into the country, which ended in 39 people dying in the most horrific circumstances.

       "The CPS worked with the police financial investigators to identify Nica's criminal benefit from this tragedy and what assets he currently holds."

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