France grounds plane, filled with 303 Indians, over suspected 'human trafficking'

A Nicaragua-bound plane, carrying over 303 Indian passengers, has been grounded by France over suspected ‘human trafficking’, said the authorities on Friday (Dec 22).

As per the Paris prosecutors, on Thursday (Dec 21) the aircraft was detained after an anonymous tipoff. The local officials, in the eastern Marne region on Friday, said that a judicial investigation has been launched into the trip’s conditions and purposes.

French media, which includes BFM TV and France 3, said that authorities were carrying out an investigation over the suspicion of human trafficking.

Speaking to AFP, Paris public prosecutor’s office said, the aircraft carrying passengers “likely to be victims of human trafficking” was detained after they received a tip-off.

Plane detained at technical stopover

The flight, which belonged to a Romanian charter company, had taken off from Dubai, United Arab Emirates and landed at a small Vatry airport, which was a technical stopover when they were intervened by the police, said the Marne prefect’s office, in an e-mailed statement.

“The reception hall at Vatry airport was transformed into a waiting area with individual beds to provide passengers with the best possible reception conditions”, it added, stating that a judicial investigation has been started into the incident.

The prosecutors said that the investigation has been taken over by the national anti-organised crime unit JUNALCO. The prefecture in the northeastern department of Marne stated that A340, which was being operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, “remained grounded on the tarmac at Vatry airport following its landing”.

It added that the plane’s refuelling was due and there were 303 Indian nationals inside it.

As per the reports, the travel may have been planned by the Indian passengers to reach Central America from where they can attempt to enter the United States or Canada illegally.