GARDAÍ HAVE ARRESTED a man who is wanted for questioning in connection with the Essex police investigation into the deaths of 39 people in the trailer of a truck.

A spokesperson said the man, who is in his early 20s and from Northern Ireland, was arrested at Dublin Port on foot of an outstanding court order for an offence in this jurisdiction.

He will appear before Criminal Courts of Justice at 4.30pm today.

RTÉ reports the man was arrested this morning after he arrived on a ferry from France. 

It is understood police in Essex are interested in speaking with this man in connection with their investigation into the deaths of 31 men and eight women in a refrigerated lorry.

Their bodies were found in the trailer of the lorry in an industrial park in Grays, east of London, on Wednesday. Up to 20 Vietnamese citizens are feared among 39 people found in the truck.

Gardaí are continuing to assist police in Essex with their inquiries.

Officers in the UK are questioning four people in connection with their investigation.

A 48-year-old man from Northern Ireland was detained at Stansted Airport yesterday on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic people and manslaughter.

Officers had earlier arrested a couple, named locally as haulage boss Thomas Maher and his wife Joanna, both 38, of Warrington, on suspicion of 39 counts of manslaughter and people trafficking.

It followed the arrest of the driver of the Scania truck on suspicion of murder on Wednesday, who remains in custody. On Thursday, detectives were granted more time to question 25-year-old Mo Robinson from Northern Ireland.

Belgian police are also hunting the driver who delivered the trailer to Zeebrugge, the port it left before arriving in the UK.