Plane leaves France after days of blockade
The French judiciary detained a plane at Vatry airport on Thursday. The reason: an anonymous whistleblower claimed that the passengers were victims of human trafficking. Two passengers were then brought before a judge. The plane is now allowed to take off again.
Following the detention of a plane carrying more than 300 Indians in France on suspicion of human trafficking, the majority of the passengers have been allowed to return home. The plane took off for Mumbai in the afternoon with 276 people on board, according to the prefecture of the Marne department. The public prosecutor's office had given the go-ahead for the departure on Sunday.
Two Indian passengers were brought before an investigating judge today, Monday. The two men were initially accused of human trafficking. After the hearing, they were released. However, they are still being investigated for aiding and abetting illegal entry, according to judicial sources. According to their lawyers, they were ordered to leave France immediately.
According to the prefecture, 25 other passengers remained in France to apply for asylum. Among them were five minors.
Passengers housed in reception hall
On Thursday, the French judiciary had prevented the Airbus A340 of the Romanian airline Legend Airlines with 303 passengers on board from continuing its flight at Vatry airport, a good 130 kilometers west of Paris. There had been an anonymous tip-off that the people on board could be victims of human trafficking, the public prosecutor's office explained. During the investigation, the passengers were accommodated in the reception hall of Vatry airport and provided with showers and beds.
The plane had made a stopover in France on its way from the United Arab Emirates to Nicaragua. According to information from investigators, the Indian passengers may have been traveling illegally from Central America to the USA or Canada.
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After the plane was cleared for departure following the human trafficking investigation, international authorities issued warnings to other nations about potential victims among the released passengers. The international community expressed concern over the increasing use of airplanes in human trafficking operations, with France being a prominent transit point.
Source: www.ntv.de
