The Airbus A340, transporting 276 passengers en route to Nicaragua, found itself grounded in France for four days due to suspicions of human trafficking. In a bid to uncover a potential network of illegal immigrants operating from the state, Gujarat Police reportedly interrogated around 20 Gujarati passengers who were aboard the flight destined for Nicaragua but were compelled to return from France mid-journey, as reported by a news agency.
The Airbus A340, carrying passengers, touched down in Mumbai on December 26. According to a high-ranking official from the state Crime Investigation Department (CID) who spoke with the media, at least 60 passengers hailed from Gujarat and had already returned to their respective home states. The government questioned them to ascertain whether they had intentions of entering the United States illegally after their travels in Latin America.
The French authorities sent them back, suspecting that they had planned to enter the US unlawfully upon landing in Nicaragua. SP Rajkumar, additional director general of police, CID-Crime, and Railway, was quoted in the report stating, “We are delving into the specifics to find out who the agents behind their travel were.” Out of the sixty who returned to Gujarat, the police claimed to have already interrogated about twenty of them.
“We are scrutinizing their documentation to determine if they traveled to Central America with falsified or authentic documents,” stated the senior IPS officer. “We will also examine their financial transactions because ideally, they shouldn’t have paid more if they were going there as regular tourists and not with any other intentions.” Despite the police’s inquiries, individuals are reluctant to divulge information, insisting that they were merely tourists during their visit. The officer emphasized, “We are looking into the matter from every angle.”
On Tuesday, Sanjay Kharat, superintendent of police, CID (Crime), announced the formation of four teams by the CID to investigate the matter further. The CID (Crime) aims to prosecute agents who misled victims with false promises to enter the US and other countries illegally. Kharat informed reporters, “We have formed four teams that will gather information from the victims regarding the promises made to them by these agents.”
The Airbus A340 was halted at Vatry airport, east of Paris, last week for undisclosed reasons and subsequently taken into custody. Acting on an anonymous tip suggesting possible human trafficking victims on board, the aircraft was detained after arriving from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. The majority of the 303 people on board were flown back to India. Kharat stated, “We would like to know how these people got in touch with the agents or if the agents reached out to them, and what their plan was once they got to Nicaragua.”