Plane With Indians Grounded In France Cleared To Leave, Destination Unknown: Top Points

A plane carrying mostly Indians has been cleared for departure after it was detained and ground for three days at an airport in Paris. What we know so far in this developing story.

French gendarmes patrol around a terminal at Vatry airport, north-eastern France, on December 23, 2023 two days after officials grounded a Nicaragua-bound plane carrying more than 300 Indian passengers over suspected "human trafficking".

Source : Getty

A Nicaragua-bound flight carrying mostly Indians which was detained by French authorities at an airport near Parish over suspicion of human trafficking has been cleared for departure, however, the destination is yet to be known, local media reported. Here's what we know so far about this developing story.

• The plane has been cleared for departure after it was grounded for three days, but the destination remains unknown.
• The plane was carrying mostly Indians among its 303 passengers and was suspected by French authorities over "human trafficking".
• The travel could have been planned by Indian passengers to reach Central America and then attempt at crossing into the the United States or Canada illegally, reports said. The were likely to be victims of human trafficking in an organised gang, an anonymous tip alerted authorities.
• The aircraft operated by Legend Airlines operated by a Romanian company was allowed to leave after French judged cancelled hearings of the 300 plus passengers over irregularities in the procedure.
• Earlier in the day, the passengers were questioned by the judges at the Vatry airport 150 km east of Paris over suspected "human trafficking".
• The investigation over the human trafficking angle was opened by the Paris prosecutor's office.
•  The destination of the plane is yet unknown, but it could travel to India, where the passengers are from or even to Nicaragua its original destination, or tohe Dubai from where it took off.
•  According to local media, some of the passengers spoke Hindi while others spoke Tamil.
• Ten of the passengers have also sought asylum, local media reports said.

Among the passengers were also 10 unattended minors, who had been in custody since their detention on Friday, French prosecutors said. However, the Romanian airline has denied any involvement in trafficking. A lawyer of the company said that a 'partner' ordered the plane and was responsible for verifying the documents of the passengers.

Human trafficking is punishable by a potential sentence of up to 20 years in France. The Indian embassy on Saturday thanked French authorities for working on the 'early resolution' of the situation by working on the Christmas holiday.