The aircraft, an Airbus A340, carrying 303 Indian passengers was grounded in France, where it had stopped for refuelling. The chartered plane had arrived from the United Arab Emirates and was halted after an anonymous tip-off that it was carrying potential victims of human trafficking.
The Police said most of the passengers on the plane were from Banaskantha, Patan, Mehsana and Anand districts in Gujarat. Most of the flight’s other passengers were from Punjab where police said they were also conducting a probe.
Airbus A340 with 303 Indians held in France over trafficking concerns, lands in Mumbai
Passengers had paid “four million to 12.5 million rupees” to agents to help them reach the southern border of the United States from South America, Gujarat state police superintendent Sanjay Kharat told AFP.
“We want to know how these people came in contact with the agents, or whether the agents contacted them, and what their plan was after reaching Nicaragua,” he said.
The official said they will also try to find out how many people have been flown abroad this way, and who all are seeking to travel in this manner. The CID has so far received “raw information” regarding the agents involved in the incident and will be able to find out more only after questioning the passengers concerned, he said.
Kharat further said different agents involved in illegal immigration work in tandem. “The agents working at the village and district levels are small players controlled by a kingpin who works at the international level,” he added.
The Gujarat police will investigate and get a clear picture of how they operate, he said.
Meanwhile, the ministry of external affairs said that most of the Indians who were travelling in the flight have landed in India and those who remained in France would be given consular assistance if they require assistance from New Delhi.
On being asked about the passengers, MEA official spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “As you are aware, it (flight) was grounded during a technical halt near Paris and most of them subsequently, after intervention from our embassy, consulate assistance landed back in India, in Mumbai. A few Indians, I don’t have the exact numbers, could be 25, I think, as you said, but could be slightly different, stayed back there and I would have to refer you to the French authorities, to be honest, because this is being processed or the cases are being dealt by French authorities as per their local laws and I think for reasons of privacy as well as our lack of knowledge of French procedures, I would rather leave it at that.”
“Most of the passengers are now back in India and as regards to the specific Indians who are there, if they require any assistance from us, actually we would extend consular assistance” he added.
(With agency inputs)