Plane with passengers from India stranded in France takes off towards Mumbai Folha de Pernambuco

The plane was detained after receiving an anonymous tip that passengers were victims of a human trafficking network

Per AFPDEC 25, 2023 at 12:45 p.m

According to a report, the plane took off François Nascimbeni/AFP

A plane carrying 303 Indian passengers, stranded since Thursday (21) at an airport near Paris on suspicion of mass human trafficking, took off this Monday (25) for Mumbai (India), French authorities said .

The plane, an Airbus 340 belonging to the Romanian airline Legend Airlines, flying from the United Arab Emirates to Nicaragua, was blocked last Thursday during a refueling stop at Vatry airport and took off today shortly before 3 p.m. local time (11 a.m. in Brasília) with 276 of the There were originally 303 passengers on board.

Of the original group, 25 applied for asylum in France and two were held for questioning, although they were released shortly afterwards, according to court sources.

The plane was detained following an anonymous tip that the passengers were victims of a human trafficking network.

A source close to the investigation said they were likely Indian workers in the Emirates who were planning to reach Central America. From there they would attempt to move north and enter the United States or Canada irregularly.

During the investigation, passengers stayed in Civil Defenseapproved areas with single beds, bathrooms and showers at this airport, 150 kilometers east of Paris.