Police in the Indian state of Gujarat are forming teams to investigate a suspected illegal immigration network following an incident involving an Airbus A340 that was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking. The plane, carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, landed in Mumbai in the early hours on Tuesday. The police in Gujarat have formed four teams to gather information from passengers regarding promises made by agents to help them enter the US and other countries illegally. The Superintendent of Police, CID (Crime) Sanjay Kharat, stated that coordination with passengers will occur when they reach Gujarat from Mumbai to identify the agents and agencies involved and determine whether documents provided to them were forged.
Most passengers on the chartered plane were from districts of Patan, Mehsana, Banaskantha, and Anand in Gujarat. Kharat mentioned that the police would also make efforts to learn about the number of people who have flown abroad in a similar manner and those seeking to travel this way. He emphasized that the CID has “raw information” about agents involved in sending Indians abroad and will try to gather more information through questioning the passengers.
Kharat explained that different agents involved in illegal immigration work at various levels, with smaller players at the village and district levels controlled by a kingpin operating at the international level. The investigation will be carried out by the Gujarat police to understand how these agents operate.
The incident involves a Romanian charter company, Legend Airlines, operating the charter flight bound for Nicaragua from Dubai. The plane was detained in France for a technical stopover, and French authorities launched a judicial investigation into the purpose and conditions of the trip, suspecting human trafficking.
A lawyer representing the airline, Liliana Bakayoko, indicated that passengers defended by colleagues had return tickets and hotel reservations. The lawyer disputed reports suggesting that only 12 of the 303 passengers had return tickets, emphasizing that almost all passengers defended had return tickets and hotel reservations. The incident is a part of broader concerns about human trafficking and illegal immigration networks.
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