Some of the 39 migrants found dead in a lorry container in Essex had told their families they were taking a "VIP" trip to the UK, a court has heard.
The Vietnamese nationals, whose bodies were discovered at an industrial estate in Greys in October last year, included a university graduate, a bricklayer, a hairdresser, and restaurant and nail bar workers, the Old Bailey was told.
Four men are on trial charged in connection with the deaths - including two men, lorry driver Eamonn Harrison and alleged organiser Gheorghe Nica, who are accused of 39 counts of manslaughter.
On Thursday, jurors heard details of how many of the migrants, aged 15 to 44, had travelled from Vietnam to different parts of Europe before telling their families they planned to travel to the UK to find work.
Some of their families had borrowed thousands of pounds to pay for their journey, the court was told.
One of the migrants, 35-year-old Nguyen Huy Phong, told his wife in Vietnam he was travelling to the UK by "VIP option" to work as a bricklayer and asked to borrow £10,000, according to agreed facts read in court.
Another of the migrants, 25-year-old Vo Van Linh, told his family he was going to the UK "via the 'VIP' channel".
The family of 18-year-old Hoang Van Tiep had been asked to prepare £10,050 for his trip to UK by "VIP option", which was explained by a family member as "travelling by a four-seater car", jurors were told.
Former Samsung employee Hoang Van Hoi, 24, also asked his parents to prepare £18,000 to travel to the UK as a "VIP".
The migrants included 15-year-old Dinh Dinh Binh who told his family he had borrowed money from someone to finance his trip.
His mother said: "Although we have received his cremated ashes and organised his funeral, we have not been able to get back to our normal life yet."
Trained hairdresser Nguyen Huy Hung, also 15, was travelling to Britain to live with his parents.
Nguyen Van Hiep, 24, had made five failed attempts in the canvas hood of a lorry for a price of around £4,000, his father understood.
He asked for around £10,000 to be taken in a lorry, and on 21 October last year messaged his mother on Facebook saying: "Mother, please prepare money, I will pass tomorrow."
Among the other migrants were 19-year-old Vo Nhan Du who said he was travelling to the UK to work in a restaurant or nail salon; married couple Tran Hai Loc and Nguyen Thi Van who had been working as fruit pickers in Hungary; and university graduate Duong Minh Tuan, 27, who had previously worked in the computer industry, the court heard.
Post-mortem examinations found the cause of death for all 39 migrants was "asphyxia (i.e suffocation due to lack of oxygen) with hyperthermia (an increased body temperature) in an enclosed space".
The court heard that Harrison had been stopped by police in Germany twice over traffic incidents in January and March 2018.
In May last year, he was driving a lorry in Drantum, Germany, when he lost control and the vehicle toppled over.
He was convicted of drink-driving and ordered to pay 855 euro (£772), which remains outstanding, the court heard.
On 9 May 2018, Harrison was stopped by UK Border Force officers at the entrance of the Channel Tunnel in France.
The seal on his trailer was found to have been broken and glued back together. When the trailer was searched, 18 Vietnamese migrants were found sitting on boxes of waffles inside.
Jurors were told that a "civil penalty notice" was issued.
Nica, 43, of Basildon, Essex, and Harrison, 23, of Mayobridge, Co Down, Northern Ireland, deny 39 counts of manslaughter.
Harrison also denies conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration, along with Valentin Calota, 37, and Christopher Kennedy, 24, who face the same charge.
Nica has admitted the conspiracy charge.
Jurors have heard that lorry driver Maurice Robinson, 26, and haulage boss Ronan Hughes, 41, have previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of the migrants.
The trial continues.
