Indians detained in France on suspicion of trafficking were permitted to depart.
French police authorized the departure of a plane carrying nearly 300 Indian passengers who had been detained near Paris on suspicion of human trafficking on Monday. Indians detained in France on suspicion of trafficking were permitted to depart. The plane then departed for Mumbai.
Last Thursday, an Airbus A340 carrying 303 Indians was apprehended at Vatry airport, located east of Paris, during a refueling stop en route to Nicaragua.
An anonymous source provided information that the vessel had arrived from Dubai while transporting potential victims of human trafficking.
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276 of the initial 303 passengers on the manifest were on the plane that departed shortly before 3 p.m.
Two of the 303 passengers who remained behind were detained by French police on suspicion of human trafficking; however, according to a judicial source, the police released them after determining that they had voluntarily boarded the aircraft.
Judicial sources stated that while the French government continues to investigate the case for possible human trafficking, it is no longer investigating the case for violations of immigration laws.
According to their attorney, Salome Cohen, the suspects were released because “the investigating judge was able to resist media pressure in this case.”
According to their attorneys, France has issued an expulsion order to the two.
Twenty-five others have applied for asylum in France, according to the prefecture. It stated that five are minors, an increase from the previous figure of two.
Their applications would be processed at the aerodrome of Charles-de-Gaulle.
“Prompt resolution”
Sunday, after two days of interrogating the passengers, French prosecutors authorized the aircraft to depart.
According to an investigation source who spoke with AFP, the Indians were probably United Arab Emirates laborers en route to Nicaragua, from which they intended to depart for the United States or Canada.
Throughout the investigation, the passengers of the flight, which was operated by the Romanian firm Legend Airlines, were housed at the airport.
They were initially held aboard the aircraft upon arrival in France but were subsequently discharged and provided with individual sleeping accommodations in the terminal facility. By police, the entire airport was cordoned off.
The airport’s reception area was subsequently converted into a waiting area.
According to the local prefecture, beds, toilets, and showers have been erected, while police have restricted access to the airport for the press and outsiders.
Prosecutors in Paris have reported that eleven unaccompanied juveniles were among the passengers.
Monday marked the “quick resolution” of the incident, for which the Indian embassy in Paris expressed gratitude on X, formerly Twitter.
The departure authorization was granted after a French court’s determination that any additional confinement of three of the passengers would violate the law.
However, the coordinator of the Secours Catholique-Caritas organization, Genevieve Colas, stated that the plane’s discharge “surprised” her.
She inquired, “What if they are victims of human trafficking?” “Therefore, it would be inappropriate to permit them to depart for another nation simply.”
None of the thirty crew members were detained. While some were responsible for the Dubai-Vatry leg, others were to pilot the aircraft to Managua. As per Flightradar24, Legend Airlines operates a fleet of a mere four aircraft.
