People smuggler ‘is going deaf’

An accused people smuggler who claims he was oblivious to a load of migrants in the back of his van days before the deaths of 39 Vietnamese nationals suffers from ‘hearing problems,’ a court heard. Valentin Calota, 38, has told the Old Bailey that he unwittingly drove a group of people from Essex to London last October 18. He allegedly worked alongside hauliers responsible for the deaths of 39 migrants who were found in the back of a lorry near…