The plane had departed from Dubai on Thursday and landed at the small Vatry airport for a technical stopover when police intervened.
Pic: Social Media
A Nicaragua-bound plane, carrying 303 Indian passengers, has been grounded by France over suspected ‘human trafficking’, said the aviation authorities on Friday, December 22, 2023. To subscribe please click tau.id/2iy6f and access our live channel.
As per the Paris prosecutors, on Thursday (Dec 21) the aircraft was detained after an anonymous tipoff. It took off from the United Arab Emirates.
ALSO READ: French President in Republic Day 2024
The local officials, in the eastern Marne region on Friday, said that a judicial investigation has been launched into the trip’s conditions and purposes.
The flight, which belonged to a Romanian charter company, had taken off from Dubai and landed at a small Vatry airport.
Due to a technical stopover when they were intervened by the police, said the Marne prefect’s office, in an e-mailed statement.
French media, which includes BFM TV and France 3, said, the national anti-organised crime unit JUNALCO has taken over the investigation.
The prefecture in the northeastern department of Marne said the A340, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, “remained grounded on the tarmac at Vatry airport following its landing”.
The Indian passengers might have planned to travel to Central America in order to attempt illegal entry into the United States or Canada, as per a similar source.
As per the official media reports, “the reception hall at Vatry airport was transformed into a waiting area with individual beds to provide passengers with the best possible reception conditions”, it added, stating that a judicial investigation has been started into the incident.
