Gujarat CID identifies 15 agents involved in illegal passenger transportation
The Gujarat CID has written a letter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to help it collect more information about the agents
AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat police have identified 15 agents involved in promising to illegally transport 66 persons from Gujarat to the US, a revelation that emerged after a Nicaragua-bound plane was returned from France recently due to suspected human trafficking.

“We have identified 15 agents who had promised to take the natives from Gujarat illegally to the US and are taking necessary actions against them. We are yet to ascertain who is the mastermind behind this. Out of the 66 passengers from Gujarat, we have already questioned 55 of them and recorded their statements. Majority of them have studied till Class 8 to 12. Each of them admitted that they had agreed to pay ₹60 lakh to ₹80 lakh to the local immigration agents to help them cross into the US illegally after reaching Nicaragua via Dubai,” Sanjay Kharat, superintendent of police, CID- Crime and Railways, who is leading the investigation, told HT.
The Nicaragua-bound aircraft, an Airbus A340 carrying 303 passengers, including 260 Indians, was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking over a week ago. It landed in Mumbai in the early hours of December 26.
“These agents had instructed the passengers from Gujarat to make payments only upon reaching the US, assuring them that their operatives would facilitate their journey to the US border from Nicaragua and aid in crossing the border. It was also revealed during investigation that the agents had arranged and booked air tickets for these passengers, providing USD 1,000 to 3,000 to each individual to handle any unforeseen emergency situations,” said Kharat.
The 66 passengers from Gujarat were asked to reach Dubai between December 10 and December 20 from different locations including Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Delhi.
These passengers boarded the Nicaragua-bound aircraft of a private airline at the Fujairah International Airport on December 21 as directed by the agents, the CID said in a press statement.
It added that the CID has written a letter to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to help it collect more information about the agents who had acquired Dubai visa of these 55 passengers, bank details of agents who had paid the visa fee from his account, how the agents managed to acquire visa of Nicaragua from Dubai and who booked the flight from Dubai and paid money for the tickets of passengers.
The chartered flight, which was operated by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines and bound for Nicaragua, landed at Vatry near Paris on December 21 for a technical stopover en route from Dubai when the French police intervened. French authorities launched a judicial investigation into the conditions and purpose of the trip, with a unit specialising in organised crime investigating suspected human trafficking.
Nicaragua has emerged as a sought-after destination for individuals seeking asylum in the United States, with a notable increase of 51.61% in the fiscal year 2023, as evidenced by data provided by the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), where a total of 96,917 Indians attempted to enter the US illegally. Among these, at least 41,770 individuals aimed to cross into the US via the Mexican land border, according to CBP records.
