New Delhi: A flight bound for Nicaragua with 303 passengers, mostly of Indian origin, stranded in France after their plane was detained on suspicion of human trafficking, was permitted to continue its journey on Monday, PTI reported citing local media reports on Sunday.
Following the authorization of the A340 aircraft to depart, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, the French judges opted to cancel the hearings for the over 300 passengers due to procedural irregularities, as reported by BFM TV, a French news broadcast television and radio network.
Earlier today, four French judges began questioning the passengers detained by the French authorities at Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, since Thursday over suspected "human trafficking".
The hearings were conducted as part of the investigation opened by the Paris prosecutor's office on suspicion of human trafficking.
The plane is expected to take off again on Monday morning.
According to French prosecutors, the plane included 11 unaccompanied minors and two passengers in custody since Friday had their detention extended on Saturday evening for up to 48 hours, reported PTI.
A lawyer for the firm, Liliana Bakayoko, denied any involvement in the trafficking.
Bakayoko said that a “partner” company that chartered the plane was responsible for verifying the identity documents of each passenger, and communicated the passengers' passport information to the airline 48 hours before the flight.
Notably, human trafficking in France carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years.
On Saturday, India's embassy in France said its staff are stationed at the airport near Paris to ensure the welfare of Indian nationals after the passengers were detained by French authorities over suspected "human trafficking".
According to PTI, 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.
But an anonymous tip indicated that passengers were “likely to be victims of human trafficking” in an organised gang, alerted the authorities.