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Indians stuck in France over trafficking fears questioned upon return to Mumbai
Officials said the passengers underwent detailed immigration procedures and customs checks before they were allowed to exit the Mumbai airport
MUMBAI: Immigration authorities on Tuesday questioned 276 Indian passengers as they returned to Mumbai from France, where a Nicaragua-bound charter plane carrying them was grounded for a human trafficking investigation.
The passengers were blocked at Vatry airport, 150 kilometres east of Paris, for four days following an anonymous tip-off that the plane, which took off from Dubai, was carrying potential victims of human trafficking.
Of the original 303 passengers, 276 were sent to Mumbai and 25 others requested asylum in France. The remaining two passengers were detained as part of a human trafficking investigation but were released Monday after appearing before a judge. The two were issued an expulsion order from France.
The flight landed in Mumbai around 4am. Officials said the passengers, whose statements were recorded before they were allowed to exit the airport when the formalities were completed after almost five hours, underwent detailed immigration procedures and customs checks.
The passengers hid their faces as they came out of the airport in groups. Most of them carried single bag packs. One said he left for Dubai on November 26 en route to the US via Nicaragua. He insisted that he had all the documents but needed to know what went wrong. “I cannot say anything more,” he said, refusing to identify himself.
Other passengers refused to speak.
The passengers were put up at the Vatry airport for the investigation and provided beds, toilets, and showers. The passengers included 11 unaccompanied minors. On Sunday, the airport was turned into a makeshift courtroom. Four French judges questioned the Indian passengers. The hearing was conducted as part of the human trafficking investigation.
