CID records statement of 21 Gujarati passengers, many ‘couldn’t explain’ why they boarded Nicaragua-bound flight

Many of the passengers have claimed that they were travelling to Nicaragua as tourists, said CID officers. An officer said, “The passengers maintain they were travelling to Nicaragua for sight-seeing. They had valid documents to procure visas on arrival and some even had tourist visas… However, they are unable to explain why they boarded a chartered, dubious flight that had mostly single persons and unaccompanied minors… They also can’t explain why they paid their agents huge sums of money to board the flight…”

Officers had on Friday said that the passengers have named at least two local agents, who might have charged Rs 50 lakh and above per person to take them to the US via Mexico. As of now, no case can be made out against the agents unless there is proof of forged documents or a passenger files a complaint, the officer said.

Since December 15, the CID has arrested at least eight of the 15 immigration agents booked in Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar zones in a crackdown against agencies for facilitating illegal migration of Gujaratis to foreign destinations. The crackdown began a week before the Legend Airlines flight was grounded in France.