Flight with Indians held in France over ‘human trafficking’ lands in Mumbai

A Romanian flight carrying around 276 Indian passengers landed in Mumbai early on Tuesday after being grounded in France four days ago over suspected human trafficking.

The flight returned to Mumbai after French authorities allowed the aircraft to resume its journey on Sunday. It had 303 passengers, but 27 of them decided to stay back in France.

The aircraft, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, departed shortly after 2:30 pm on Monday (local time) and reached Mumbai around 4 am on Tuesday morning.

The plane was expected to take off on Monday morning, but the departure was delayed as some passengers reportedly did not want to return to India.

According to reports, 27 passengers, including two minors, are in France as they applied for asylum. Two others, who were brought before a judge, have been released and placed on assisted witness status, local media reported.

The Nicaragua-bound charter flight, which took off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates carrying 303 passengers, was grounded at Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, on Thursday over suspected “human trafficking.” The passengers included a 21-month-old child and 11 unaccompanied minors.

The Indian Embassy in France thanked French authorities for resolving the matter and allowing the aircraft to fly back.

“Thank French Gov and Vatry Airport for quick resolution of the situation enabling Indian passengers to return home & hospitality. Also for working closely with embassy team, present throughout at the site to ensure welfare and smooth & safe return. Thank agencies in India, too,” the Embassy said in a post on X.

According to the reports, the trip may have been planned by the Indian passengers to reach Central America from where they could attempt to enter the United States or Canada illegally.

The flight was grounded after an anonymous tip, which indicated that passengers were “likely to be victims of human trafficking” by an organised gang.

Two men were taken into custody by the French authorities on Friday on suspicion of having played a role in what could be an illegal immigration ring. Their detention was extended on Saturday for up to 48 hours. Meanwhile, the airline has denied any involvement in the trafficking.

Human trafficking carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in France.