Most of the approximately 300 people from India who traveled by plane and were detained near Paris on suspicion of human trafficking will be free to continue their journey on Monday, French judicial institutions announced, reports AFP.
An Airbus A340 bound for Nicaragua and its 303 Indian passengers were detained at Vatry airport, 150 kilometers east of Paris, when they landed from Dubai for refueling on Thursday after an anonymous tip that the plane was carrying potential victims of human trafficking.
Four French judges questioned the passengers on Sunday to check the “conditions and purpose of their journey” and were given two days to interview the passengers.
Judges have the power to extend the detention, but prosecutors in Paris said they expected the plane and passengers to be cleared to leave by Monday morning at the latest, without specifying a destination.
Passengers of the Romanian Legend Airlines flight are still at the airport. Among them are 11 unaccompanied minors, the prosecutor’s office in Paris said.
The two passengers have been detained since Friday “to check” whether “their role is different from the others on this flight and under what conditions and with what goals.”
Ten passengers have applied for asylum, a source close to the case said.
A source close to the investigation told AFP that some of the Indian passengers were likely workers in the United Arab Emirates who had decided to travel to Nicaragua as a transit destination, with their destination being the United States or Canada.
