Days after France grounded plane over suspected trafficking case, 276 back, let off; 25 who sought asylum sent to Paris suburb

The passengers were let off after questioning by a team of CBI and Immigration officials. It is suspected that the passengers had been gathered by multiple agents in India and taken to UAE following which a charter flight was arranged by their contact there to take them to Nicaragua.

While 276 passengers have returned, 25 people including 5 minors, sought asylum in France, authorities in France said. Since they expressed the desire for asylum from OFPRA (French agency for refugee protection), they have been transferred to ZAPI (French agency for illegal immigrants) centre in Roissy, a Paris suburb near Charles De Gaulle airport, for their asylum request to be examined, the authorities said.

A passenger of the charter plane, which was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking, comes out of the Mumbai airport on Tuesday. (Express Photo)

According to Indian government sources, there are four Nepal nationals as well. But it is not clear whether they have returned or have asked to be considered for asylum.

TV network France 24, citing the Paris prosecutor’s office, said the remaining two passengers were initially detained as part of a human trafficking investigation but were released Monday after appearing before a judge.

A passenger of the charter plane, which was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking, comes out of the Mumbai airport on Tuesday. (Express Photo)

The judge named them as “assisted witnesses” to the case, a special status under French law that allows time for further investigation and could lead to eventual charges or to the case being dropped.

Reached for comments by The Indian Express, Liliana Bakayoko, lawyer for Legend Airlines in France, said she cannot disclose the name of the company or client that chartered the flight.

“I won’t disclose at this stage because Legend Airlines wants to protect its clients… There were 303 passengers on board… The client was responsible for checking the travel documents of all the passengers, their IDs, their visas, their tickets, etc,” she said.

She said men, women and children, even a baby, were among the passengers. “So, families, entire families are also there. Many were in possession of valid ID documents, valid tickets and valid visas. And some of them even had return tickets and hotel reservations. So, for now, we have absolutely no proof that any of the passengers intended to go beyond Nicaragua to the United States or Canada, or to any other country,” Bakayoko said.

Asked why the aircraft didn’t proceed to Nicaragua after the French authorities cleared the passengers except for the 25 who sought asylum, she said, “Most probably because the Nicaraguan authorities didn’t allow the passengers to enter their territory. Because for a plane to go somewhere, it should obtain authorisation from the country of departure as well as the country of arrival.”

Passengers of the charter plane, which was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking, come out of the Mumbai airport on Tuesday. (Express Photo)

“The United Arab Emirates refused to take the passengers back, despite the fact that they left from there. And the only country that expressed the willingness to help and to act quickly, to allow these people to go somewhere else and not to remain for a long time under these absolutely inappropriate conditions, was India,” Bakayoko said.

The aircraft landed in Mumbai around 3.30 am, following which passengers disembarked under the strict watch of security officials. They were allowed to leave the airport only after 8.30 am, following rounds of questioning by CBI and Immigration officers.

The passengers, mostly from Punjab, Haryana and Gujarat, were allowed to exit the airport in small batches. Many of them were seen emerging with their faces covered with masks and handkerchiefs and they did not speak to the waiting mediapersons.

The passengers exited through two arrival lobbies at the CSMIA and some of them headed towards the domestic terminal by taking the transit bus.

Almost all the passengers had two bags with white stickers of Legend Airlines stuck on them.

One of the passengers, who hailed from Punjab, said they had been allowed to return to their home state at their own expense. The passenger did not provide any other detail.

The Airbus A340, with 303 passengers on board including minors, had taken off from the UAE and was headed to Nicaragua. It had a technical stopover at the Vatry airport in France. It was grounded at Vatry last Thursday after the local administration received an anonymous tip-off about human trafficking.

French authorities launched a judicial investigation into the purpose of travel of all passengers.

According to French authorities, the passengers were travelling to Nicaragua – it is one of the springboards for illegal journeys to the US.

A panel of four judges questioned the passengers at Vatry airport. During the investigation, some passengers requested asylum in France, according to the local administration. Eleven passengers, who were unaccompanied minors, were placed under special administrative care.

On December 24, the seizure order on the aircraft was lifted and the Airbus was allowed to fly back on December 25, which reached Mumbai early Tuesday.

– With Deeptiman Tiwary in New Delhi