A plane carrying hundreds of Indian nationals has landed in Mumbai, four days after they were detained in France on suspicion of human trafficking.
A chartered Airbus A340 plane carrying 303 passengers, mostly Indians, was detained at Valtry Airport in the Champagne region on Thursday. The plane departed from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and was headed to Nicaragua, a country in Central America.
French authorities grounded the plane on suspicion of human trafficking during a refueling stop.
The plane landed at the Mumbai airport with 276 passengers on board. Twenty-five people, including minors, applied for asylum in France, and two others were temporarily detained.
The flight departed east of Paris on Monday and landed almost 29 hours later, just after 4 a.m. local time on Tuesday, according to flight tracking website Flightradar24.
Photos and videos showed passengers, mostly young men, wearing masks and carrying luggage as they exited the plane, sitting in the waiting area before being allowed to depart.
The passengers avoided speaking to reporters when approached at the airport upon their return.
Officials at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport said some passengers were allowed to leave the country, while others were detained for questioning.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office said the passengers were detained at Chalons-Vatry airport after authorities received an anonymous tip that some of the passengers may be “victims of human trafficking.” Le Monde newspaper.
Several of the passengers are believed to be Indian nationals working in the UAE, and one-third of them are said to be from the western Indian state of Gujarat.
French authorities reportedly speculated that the passengers’ final destination after traveling to Nicaragua was the United States or Canada.
More than 200 passengers arrived in India on Tuesday.
(Reuters)
Judiciary sources told French newspapers that authorities were investigating him for possible immigration violations, but ruled out human trafficking.
Two passengers who were detained for investigation appeared in court but were released after it was proven that they boarded the plane of their own free will.
Of the 25 people who sought asylum in France, several are minors.
French authorities are also working to determine the original purpose of the flight, and prosecutors have announced that they have launched a judicial investigation into the activities of an organized criminal group that facilitates the illegal entry and stay of foreigners.
The Indian Embassy in Paris, which was providing assistance to the passengers, thanked the French authorities for their efforts throughout the Christmas holiday weekend.
A French customs official stands next to a customs official with an Airbus A340 in the background, which has been parked on the tarmac on suspicion of “human trafficking” since December 21.
(AFP via Getty Images)
“We would like to thank the French government and Vatry Airport for their swift resolution of the situation and hospitality that allowed the Indian passengers to return home. We would like to thank our Indian agents as well,” the Indian Embassy in Paris wrote in a post on X/Twitter.
The incident sparked chaos at the airport on Thursday, with police taking over Batley Airport that day and the terminal packed with media and local officials.
Several volunteers set up cots and ensured regular meals and showers for people who had been confined indoors for several days.
It turned into a makeshift courtroom on Sunday, with judges, lawyers and interpreters holding an emergency hearing to decide next steps.
At Sunday’s hearing, some lawyers voiced their objections to authorities’ management of the situation and the rights of the passengers, suggesting that police and prosecutors may have overreacted to the anonymous tip.
Liliana Bakayoko, a lawyer for Legend Airlines, said some of the passengers did not want to return to India because they had paid for tourist trips to Nicaragua.
Indian passenger traveling on unbranded Legend Airlines A340 from Vatry Airport, France
(AP)
The airline denied any involvement in the possible human trafficking allegations.
As the number of Indians crossing the U.S.-Mexico border surges this year, the U.S. government has designated Nicaragua as one of the countries that does not meet minimum anti-trafficking standards.
Nicaragua has served as a migration departure point for individuals fleeing poverty and conflict due to reduced entry requirements in certain countries and visa-free entry.
This comes after India invited French President Emmanuel Macron as the guest of honor for its National Day celebrations on January 26.
Macron, who invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be the guest of honor at France’s annual Bastille Day parade in Paris this year, called the invitation “a very strong gesture.”