Plane carrying Indians landed in France, India allowed to meet passengers
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A Nicaragua-bound flight carrying 303 passengers, mostly Indians, was stopped by French authorities on suspicion of ‘human trafficking’ during a ‘technical stop’ at an airport near Paris. With this, the Indian Embassy in Paris has got diplomatic access to its citizens. Local media, quoting French officials, reported on Saturday that the plane was headed to Nicaragua from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 303 passengers on board. French authorities stopped her at Chalons-Vatry airport in Marne on Thursday on suspicion of “human trafficking”. “French authorities informed us that 303 people, mostly people of Indian origin, traveling from Dubai to Nicaragua were detained during a technical stop at a French airport,” the Indian Embassy in France said in a post on Twitter. Has been detained.
The embassy team has reached and obtained consular access for the Indian nationals. We are monitoring the situation, as well as ensuring the safety of the passengers.” According to the news of Le Monde newspaper, the civil protection unit of the Marne department said on Saturday that there are 13 minors on board the plane who are not accompanied by any guardian. Is. There are also some other minors on board whose age ranges between 21 months to 17 years. According to the news of ‘Le Monde’ newspaper, JUNALCO, the unit that deals with anti-national organized crime cases, has taken over the investigation. The Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement that special investigators were questioning all passengers on board the plane and two people had been detained pending further investigation.
An official of Marne Prefecture said that the A340 plane of Romanian company ‘Legend Airlines’ remained standing at Vatri airport after landing on Thursday. He said that most of the low-fare flights are operated from Chalons-Vatry Airport, located 150 kilometers east of Paris. According to the newspaper report, the official said that the plane was to be refueled and there were 303 people on board, most of whom are of Indian origin, possibly working in the UAE. According to reports, the Indian travelers may have planned this journey to reach Central America, from where they could have attempted to enter the US or Canada illegally.
After reaching France, the passengers were first kept in the plane, but then taken out and sent to the terminal building. The entire airport has been surrounded by the police. According to the report, the prosecutor’s office said it had received information that people on board the plane might be victims of human trafficking. The passengers were eventually shifted to the main hall of the airport, where beds were arranged for their overnight stay on Thursday. Investigators from France’s Special Organized Crime Investigation Unit, Border Police and Aviation Service Force are investigating the entire episode. ‘Legend Airlines’ has not yet responded to this incident. Company lawyer Liliana Bakayoko denied any involvement in smuggling.
Liliana told French news channel BFMTV that the company is ready to cooperate with French authorities and expects the plane to depart for its destination in the next few days. He said Legend Airlines had delivered the plane to the company’s customer. According to the lawyer, the airline verified ‘the documentation presented by the customer’, which must demonstrate that these people have the right to travel to Nicaragua, and that they have valid passports. Liliana told The Associated Press that a ‘partner’ company had chartered the plane and was responsible for verifying the identity documents of each passenger.
It gives passport information of passengers to the airline 48 hours before the flight. He said, “The company cannot check the criminal records of the people on board the flight. The number of 303 people does not create apprehension. They don’t get locked in that truck without a skylight and food.” Liliana said, ”The airline is unhappy. Due to this, he is not only facing financial loss but his image is also being tarnished. Legend is already cooperating with French authorities.
According to the Flightradar website, Legend Air has a small fleet of four aircraft. French border police can stop a foreign citizen from reaching his or her desired destination for four days after landing at the country’s border. According to French law, this period can be extended up to eight days with the permission of the judge and in unavoidable circumstances this period can be extended by another eight days but the total number of days of detention should not exceed 26. In France, there is a provision of punishment of up to 20 years for human trafficking.
Disclaimer: IndiaTheNews has not edited this news. This news has been published from PTI-language feed.
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