Grounded Nicaragua flight: Probe reveals Gujarat passengers agreed to pay Rs 60-80 lakh to agents

“In order to migrate illegally to the US, they had agreed to pay between Rs 60 lakh to 80 lakh (in total) to the local agents,” the CID stated. Earlier, an officer who is part of the investigating team, had stated that the passengers had paid an advance of up to Rs 8 lakh, including the ticket fees, to the agents.

The agents had also handed over forex currency to the travellers for their use. “It has been established that the passengers also paid for the flight tickets from Ahmedabad to Dubai to Nicaragua and also received foreign exchange of USD 1,000 to 3,000 to cover for their expenses to reach the US,” the CID stated.

The passengers were to travel from Ahmedabad to Dubai and exit to Nicaragua from where a network of agents would further facilitate them to cross the US border.

According to the CID statement Tuesday, the rest of the payments were to be made after the individuals successfully crossed over to the US.

Superintendent of Police of Anti-Economic Offences Cell, Sanjay Kharat, said the police are also investigating the financial resources of the travellers as many hailed from “financially weaker” backgrounds and would have “networked to raise funds” to pay the agents.

In a statement Tuesday, the Gujarat CID said it had recorded statements of 55 of the 66 passengers from Gujarat who returned home after being deported from France. “On recording statements of 55 persons, either by summoning them to the CID or by visiting their homes, names of 15 agents have emerged. They will be questioned as part of the investigations,” the Gujarat CID said in a statement.

According to the initial information, it was suspected that 96 passengers from Gujarat were travelling on the chartered Legend Airlines flight that was grounded at Vatry airport in France during its refuelling stop. “However, after confirmation from the FRRO Bureau of Immigration in Mumbai in Maharashtra of the number of passengers deported from France, the Gujarat police received a list of 66 passengers, who were probed… The Gujarat CID received a list of 66 passengers along with their passport numbers and addresses,” the CID stated.

“They have all returned home. There were also minors on board the flight, who were accompanied by their parents and also returned to their respective homes with their parents,” said Kharat.

It has also come to light that most of the passengers hailed from Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Anand, and Ahmedabad, and majority had completed schooling until Class 8 or the higher secondary.

The CID also verified records from the Foreigners Registration Office (FRRO) in Mumbai as well as Ahmedabad to establish the sequence of the travel of the Gujarat residents.

“Records of the Immigration FRRO in Ahmedabad show that the passengers travelled from Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Delhi to Dubai between December 10 and December 20, 2023. The CID has further sought information from booking agents of the flight tickets of these passengers as well as details of the flights booked to Dubai… The CID has also written a letter to the CBI to seek details from Dubai regarding the visas granted to the 66 passengers for entry into the UAE, from where they boarded the Legend Airlines flight from Fujairah on December 21,” the CID said.

Furthermore, the police have also sought information through the CBI on agents who arranged the UAE visas for the passengers and the bank account transaction details from which the payments were made for procuring the visas. “The CBI has also said it is investigating how the passengers got visas for Managua — the capital of Nicaragua — as none of the passports had visa stamps for the country,” the CID added.