Mumbai/Chandigarh/Ahmedabad: Two hundred and seventy-six Indians, who were headed to Nicaragua and stopped in France over fears of human trafficking, landed in a charter A340 Airbus aircraft at Mumbai airport early on Tuesday after being detained at Vatry airport near Paris for four days.
The incident, which sparked questions over illegal immigration through a circuitous “donkey route” that takes people across continents before smuggling them into the US, is being investigated by central immigration authorities and police across at least two states, and the returning Indians were questioned at the airport on arrival. They were processed through a dedicated corridor created for them, and sent home after filling necessary paperwork over about five hours.
Of the 303 people who were on board the Legend Airlines charter flight, 25 including two minors sought asylum in France, and two people were held by French authorities for allegedly being the facilitators of illegal immigration. These two were produced before a judge and placed on assisted witness status, AP reported.
READ | Plane with Indians grounded in France over ‘human trafficking’ lands in Mumbai
The French authorities were initially investigating a potential violation of immigration laws, but ceased their inquiry into possible human trafficking, according to an official tracking the passengers.
Officials said that of the 276 who returned, about two-thirds were from Punjab, about 25% from Gujarat, and the remaining from different Indian states. “Most of those who were deported back are in their mid-20s or early 30s and had a valid Nicaragua visa,” a Punjab Police official aware of the details said. The passenger list accessed by HT showed that around 150 passengers were in their mid-20s, and around 70 in their 30s. The others were spread across different age groups.
The official cited above, who is involved in the preliminary probe, said that most of passengers reached Dubai in the last two months on work or tourist visas, from where they had boarded the flight to Nicaragua. This flight landed at Vatry Airport for refuelling on December 21, when it was grounded for four days after French authorities acted on a tip-off that the people on board were being trafficked.
Details of the people who organised the flight, and the person who prompted France to investigate the passengers were not immediately clear.
Following the return of the passengers, police in Punjab and Gujarat have started verifying whether an organised syndicate was behind so many Indians trying to reach the US or Canada through countries from where they can either be smuggled in or where obtaining travel documents is easier.
The term “donkey route” is devised from the Punjabi word “dunki”, which means to hop from place to place. It refers to an illegal method in which people cross a country’s borders through a back-door route with multiple stops in other countries.
READ | ‘Dunki’ flight with Indians grounded by France in Mumbai now. What about 25 other passengers? 10 points
A total of 96,917 Indians attempted to enter the US illegally in the 2022-23, signalling a 51.6% jump from the previous year, according to data made available by the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP). At least 41,770 of those Indians attempted to enter the US via the Mexican land border, CBP data shows.
A Punjab Police officer said they were waiting for more details from the ministry of external affairs and Union home ministry. “The information we have gathered so far from various sources have revealed that those who returned back had gone to Dubai on tourist or work permit in the past two months,” the officer said.
A Jalandhar-based immigration consultant is under the scanner for sending some of those from Punjab named in the list, according to a person aware of the details. They were meant to reach the US via the Nicaragua-Mexico route, he added. “Taking the Nicaragua route is common in sending persons to US as the country has very liberal immigration rules. It is easy to move to Mexico from this country, and then to sneak to US. Few illegal consultants even take ₹50 lakh per person with a promise of entry into the US,” this person said.
In Gujarat, a senior police officer said so far they were able to verify that 21 passengers were from the state, including places such as Patan, Banaskantha and Gandhinagar. The flight manifest, however, suggested that at least 50 may be of Gujarati origin.
“The Gujarat Police is in touch with the concerned central agency regarding the plane that returned to India from France on suspicion of human trafficking. Information is being sought from various agencies and government departments regarding the incident,” according to a statement by Gujarat Police on X.
After all the facts come to light, if any illegal act is found to have been committed, legal action will be taken, it added.
In Mumbai, officials said, the passengers who arrived from France went through detailed questioning at immigration. “Their statements were recorded and they were allowed to leave the airport on completion of formalities, which lasted almost five hours,” one official said.
Most of the passengers came out of the airport in groups hiding their faces in hoods or masks, and carrying only bag packs or small suitcases. One of them said that he went to Dubai on November 26 and from there he was heading to Nicaragua for travel to US. he said he had all the documents. “I don’t know what went wrong. I cannot say anything more,” he added, without revealing his name. Most passengers refused to speak to the media.
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