2023-12-22 22:23:00
A plane carrying 303 Indian passengers and intended to connect the United Arab Emirates to Nicaragua has been grounded since Thursday, December 21 at Vatry airport, in Marne, due to “suspicion of human trafficking”, announced Friday, December 22 the Marne prefecture and the Paris prosecutor’s office, which opened an investigation. This immobilization follows “an anonymous report”, specified the prosecution. Two of the Airbus passengers are currently being held in police custody, the Paris prosecutor’s office also indicated, confirming information from BFMTV.
The National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime (Junalco) “resumed the investigation to verify whether any elements would corroborate the suspicion of trafficking in human beings by an organized gang, a crime punishable by 20 years of criminal imprisonment and 3 million euros fine,” adds the prosecution. “The National Directorate of Border Police (notably Oltim, Office for Combating Smuggling of Migrants), the air transport gendarmerie and the Vitry-le-François research brigade have been contacted and are carrying out hearings and verifications of the conditions and objectives of passenger transport”, also specifies the prosecution.
Intervention of the air transport gendarmerie brigade
The Marne prefecture indicated in a press release that this flight, of the Romanian company Legend Airlines, “remained immobilized on the tarmac of Vatry airport after its landing (Thursday) in the afternoon” and an intervention of the air transport gendarmerie brigade on board. The prefecture confirmed to AFP that the plane was still grounded on Friday afternoon. This plane, an A340 which “was to make a technical stopover” at Vatry, “had on board 303 passengers of Indian nationality”, specified the prefecture in its press release.
“The company believes that it has nothing to reproach itself for, has committed no offense and is at the disposal of the French authorities,” assured AFP Liliana Bakayoko, who presents herself as the lawyer for Legend Airlines. . The airline intends to “file a civil suit if proceedings are initiated by the public prosecutor, or file a complaint” otherwise, she added.
According to a source close to the matter, who specifies that the plane stopped to refuel, these Indian passengers could have wanted to go to Central America in order to then try to enter illegally into the United States or Canada.
By two successive decrees published Thursday evening and Friday morning, the prefect of Marne temporarily extended the waiting area for foreigners to the airport reception hall, where passengers have, according to the prefecture, “individual beds” . A gendarmerie system prevented access to the airport on Friday afternoon, noted an AFP journalist. The prefecture has also opened a crisis unit.
Multiple instances entered
“The embassy team was granted consular access. We are studying the situation and ensuring the well-being of passengers,” the Indian embassy in France said on X, formerly Twitter.
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. Embassy team has reached & obtained consular access. We are investigating the situation, also ensuring wellbeing of passengers.
— India in France (@IndiaemFrance) December 22, 2023
The law provides that if he arrives in France by plane and is refused boarding to his country of destination, a foreigner can be kept in a waiting zone for a maximum of four days by the border police. This retention can then be extended by eight days by a detention and liberty judge (JLD), then by an additional eight days exceptionally. At most, depending on the appeals, retention in the reception area can reach 26 days.
The National Directorate of Border Police (notably Oltim, Office for Combating Smuggling of Migrants), the Air Transport Gendarmerie and the Vitry-le-François search brigade were jointly seized, specifies the prosecution .
Human trafficking is a “crime punishable by twenty years of criminal imprisonment and a fine of three million euros,” he also underlines.
According to the specialized site Flightradar, Legend Airlines is a small company whose fleet is made up of four planes, including two A340-313s.
Vatry airport, a small aerodrome located 150 km east of Paris, welcomed 62,000 passengers in 2022, mainly via low-cost companies, according to the Union of French Airports.
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