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About 300 Indian citizens heading to Central America were sequestered in a French airport for a third day Saturday after a dramatic police operation prompted by a tip that those aboard might be victims of human trafficking, authorities said.
Those aboard included children and families. The youngest passenger is a toddler of 21 months, and among the children are several unaccompanied minors, according to the local civil protection agency.
Two of the passengers have been detained as part of a special investigation into suspected human trafficking by an organized criminal group, according the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Prosecutors wouldn’t comment on what kind of trafficking was alleged, or whether the ultimate destination was the U.S., which has seen a surge in Indians crossing the Mexico-U.S. border this year.
The unmarked A340 plane, can be seen parked near the terminal. Other flights were canceled or rerouted as the airport was transformed into the hub of a vast trafficking investigation.
The 15 crew members of the Legend Airlines charter flight — en route from Fujairah airport in the United Arab Emirates to Managua, Nicaragua — were questioned and released, according to a lawyer for the Romania-based airline.
he flight stopped for refueling, and was grounded by French police based on an anonymous tip that it could be carrying victims of human trafficking, the prosecutor’s office said.
Indian consular representatives are stationed at the airport and working with the French government ‘’for the welfare of the Indians” and for an ‘’early resolution of the situation,” the Indian Embassy in France posted Saturday on X.
Legend Airlines lawyer Liliana Bakayoko said the company is cooperating with French authorities, denies any role in possible human trafficking and ‘’has not committed any infraction.”
A “partner” company that chartered the plane was responsible for verifying the identity documents of each passenger, and communicated their passport information to the airline 48 hours before the flight, Bakayoko told The Associated Press.
The customer had chartered multiple flights on Legend Airlines from Dubai to Nicaragua, and a few other flights have already made the journey without incident, she said.
The U.S. government has designated Nicaragua as one of several countries deemed as failing to meet minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking.
Nicaragua has also been used as a migratory springboard for people fleeing poverty or conflict in the Caribbean as well as far-flung countries in Africa or Asia, because of relaxed or visa-free entry requirements for some countries.
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