A plane carrying more than 300 Indian passengers bound for Nicaragua has been grounded in France on suspicion of human trafficking – The Independent reports.
The Airbus A340 plane was grounded at the small Vatry airport in the centre of the Champagne country on Thursday following an “anonymous tip-off” that the flight was carrying suspected victims of human trafficking.
So far, two people have been taken into custody, while the remaining passengers and crew members are being questioned.
“Identity checks are being carried on the 303 passengers and on the cabin crew,” the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
French authorities said the check-in hall at Vatry airport had been turned into a waiting area and passengers were given the best possible conditions.
The Indian Embassy in France said on X that staff had been given consular access to the passengers: “French authorities informed us of a plane w/ 303 people, mostly Indian origin, from Dubai to Nicaragua detained on a technical halt at a French airport.”
A lawyer representing the airline, Liliana Bakayoko, told French television channel BFM that the company denied any role in the possible human trafficking. She said the customer chartered the plane and was responsible for checking each passenger’s identity documents, also passing passenger information to the airline 48 hours before departure.
Meanwhile, India has invited French President Emmanuel Macron to be the chief guest at next month’s Republic Day celebrations, to which the French President’s office has responded extremely favourably.
