Detectives investigating the deaths of 39 people in a lorry in Essex are hunting two new suspects.

According to Dailymail, Police want to speak to Ronan Hughes, 40, and his brother Christopher, 34, both from Armagh, on suspicion of manslaughter and human trafficking.

Announcing the hunt for the suspects today, Essex Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Hooper urged those who know the pair to contact police.

READ ALSO: Name of man said to have leased lorry containing 39 dead bodies revealed

He said: ‘This is a case where 39 men and women have tragically died and support from the community is going to be vital to help bring those responsible to justice”.

Ronan and Chris Hughes run a family haulage business called C Hughes Logistics.

The company lists its business address as a post box along a farm track in Middleton in South Armagh close to the border with County Monaghan in the Republic of Ireland.

Ronan Hughes lives a short distance away along a small country road in the sleepy hamlet of Tyhollad in Monaghan.

When MailOnline visited his home on Friday, Mr Hughes was unavailable for comment.

Instead hostile neighbours and friends of the Hughes family poured out their homes to shout abuse. One told the reporter to ‘get back in the car and f*** off.’

Parked near Ronan’s home was a lorry with C Hughes insignia.

Mr Hughes is said to have leased the refrigerated container from Dublin-based Global Trailer Rents (GTR).

He is also linked to the blue Scania lorry impounded by Garda at Dublin Port on Saturday.

READ ALSO: UK Lorry Deaths: Driver charged with 39 counts of manslaughter

MailOnline spoke to Christopher Hughes on the day the bodies were discovered but he denied he was involved.

Announcing an appeal today, Essex Detective Chief Superintendent Stuart Hooper, who is leading the investigation, said: ‘Finding and speaking to the Hughes brothers is crucial to our investigation.

‘At this time we believe they are in Northern Ireland but they also have links to the Irish Republic.

‘If you know where they are or have any information about their whereabouts I need you to call my team.

According to detectives, Ronan Hughes, who also goes by the name Rowan, and his brother have links to Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic.

The bodies of eight women and 31 men were found in a refrigerated trailer attached to a lorry in an industrial park in Grays in the early hours of last Wednesday.

Mo Robinson, 25, Craigavon, Northern Ireland, appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Monday charged with 39 counts of manslaughter, conspiracy to traffic people, conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration, and money laundering.

Three other people arrested in connection with the incident – a 38 year-old man, a 38 year-old woman, and a 46 year-old man – have all been released on bail until November.

The discovery of the bodies has sparked a huge international investigation to try and identify the victims.

Essex Police initially believed the 39 were all Chinese nationals, but Vietnamese men and women are feared to be among the dead.

Families face an agonising wait to find out if their loved ones are among the dead after the force launched “the largest mass fatality victim identification process” in the force’s history.

All of the victims have since been moved from the vehicle to Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford for post-mortem examinations to be carried out.

It is not yet known when the victims entered the trailer, where temperatures can be as low as minus 25C if the fridge is activated, or the exact route it travelled.

Belgian officials said the trailer arrived at Zeebrugge at 2.49pm on Tuesday and left the port the same day en route to Purfleet in Essex.

The trailer arrived at Purfleet at around 12.30am on Wednesday, and was picked up by the cab, known as the tractor, which arrived from Northern Ireland via Holyhead in North Wales on Sunday.

The lorry left the port at Purfleet shortly after 1.05am before police were called to the Waterglade Industrial Park on Eastern Avenue in Grays at 1.40am. (Dailymail)

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