India

    Plane grounded over suspected 'human trafficking', to land at Mumbai airport with 300 passengers, mostly Indians

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    The Hawk
    December25/ 2023
    Last Updated:

    Detained Plane with 300 Passengers, Mostly Indians, Set to Land in Mumbai After French Authorities Suspected Human Trafficking. Romania's Legend Airlines Operates the A340 Aircraft Grounded near Paris. Paris Prosecutor Investigates Irregularities as French Judges Question Passengers, Including 11 Unaccompanied Minors. Flight Bound for Nicaragua from Dubai Faces Legal Scrutiny Over Alleged Trafficking, Highlighting a Complex International Incident.

    Representative image of flight.

    Mumbai/Paris: A plane carrying more than 300 passengers, mostly Indians, is expected to land at Mumbai airport on Monday afternoon, three days after it was detained by French authorities over suspected human trafficking, a source said.

    The A340 aircraft, being operated by Romania's Legend Airlines, is expected to land at Mumbai airport around 2:20 pm. The plane has taken off from the airport at Vatry near Paris where it was grounded, the source said.

    The Nicaragua-bound flight that had taken off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with 303 passengers was grounded at Vatry airport, 150 kilometres east of Paris, on Thursday over suspected 'human trafficking'.

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    On Sunday, four French judges questioned the detained passengers.

    The hearings were conducted as part of the investigation opened by the Paris prosecutor's office on the suspicion of human trafficking.

    According to the French media, some of the passengers spoke Hindi and the others Tamil.

    After authorising the plane to leave, the French judges on Sunday chose to cancel the hearings of the passengers due to irregularities in the procedure.

    The plane includes 11 unaccompanied minors. Two passengers in custody since Friday had their detention extended on Saturday evening for up to 48 hours, according to French prosecutors.

    —PTI