Two other people questioned on suspicion of human trafficking also remained in France. (File)
New Delhi:
Over two dozen passengers on board the charter plane that was held for days in France on suspicion of human trafficking remained behind, even though the plane was flying to Mumbai after legal clearance.
They included 20 adults and five minors who had sought asylum in France, a local official said, without specifying their nationality. Your applications would be processed at the Paris airport.
Under international law, asylum seekers cannot be sent back to their country of origin.
Two other people questioned by French police on suspicion of human trafficking also stayed behind but received an expulsion order from France, their lawyer said.
They were reportedly released after police were convinced the passengers had boarded the flight voluntarily.
Her lawyer said the judge was “able to withstand media pressure in this case,” which led to her release.
Romania's Legend Airlines plane landed in Mumbai early this morning with 276 passengers after a French judge gave the go-ahead. It left Vatry around 2:30 pm (local time) and reached Mumbai just after 4 am (IST).
It is not known exactly how many Indians are among the 276 passengers and what nationality the other planes are.
The Nicaragua-bound Airbus A340 was carrying 303 passengers, most of them Indians, when it arrived at Vatry airport near Paris last Friday. Upon arriving from Dubai to refuel, the plane was grounded due to an anonymous tip that the passengers might be potential victims of human trafficking.
French authorities are still investigating the case for violations of immigration law rather than human trafficking, reports said, citing judicial sources.
Nicaragua in Central America is a popular destination for illegal immigrants to the United States.
Nearly 97 lakh Indians attempted to enter the US illegally in fiscal 2023, a whopping 51.61 percent increase over the previous year, according to official US data. At least 41,770 of these Indians attempted to cross the Mexican land border into the US, US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) data showed.
Flights to Nicaragua or other countries where travel documents can be easily obtained are called “Dunki” flights.