After Paris, New Delhi is also on deck. Indian police said Friday they were working to find the leaders of a smuggling network, discovered during the recent immobilization by French authorities of a plane carrying 303 Indian passengers bound for Nicaragua.
Coming from the United Arab Emirates, the Airbus A340 was grounded by French police last week at Vatry airport, east of Paris, during a stopover to refuel, after an anonymous report indicating that it was transporting potential victims of human trafficking.
The plane took off again on Monday from France to Bombay after the seizure was lifted, with 276 of its passengers on board. The latter had paid between “4 and 12 million rupees” (43,500 – 130,500 euros) to smugglers to help them reach the southern border of the United States from South America, Sanjay Kharat told AFP, Gujarat State Police Commissioner.
Investigators determine the scale of the network
“We want to know how these people came into contact with the smugglers,” and “what their plan was after reaching Nicaragua,” he added. Of the 276 passengers sent back to India, 66 were from Gujarat. “We have identified people who could provide us with information about this illegal trafficking and are in the process of interviewing them,” he said.
A local police official said on condition of anonymity that investigators were trying to determine the scale of the network and the possible involvement of official agents. The flight was operated by the Romanian charter company Legend Airlines, and during the affair, which fueled a media sensation, the passengers were kept in the waiting area of the small Vatry airport.
Nearly 100,000 Indian migrants attempted to enter the United States illegally in 2023, according to US Customs and Border Protection.