Fliers From Gujarat Back From Alleged "Donkey" Flight Questioned By Cops

The police in Gujarat have begun questioning a few of the passengers belonging to the state after they returned home on Wednesday, days after their plane was grounded in France over suspected human trafficking, an official said. The police are investigating a suspected illegal immigration network.

The Nicaragua-bound aircraft, an Airbus A340, carrying 303 passengers, mostly Indians, was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking. It landed in Mumbai early Tuesday morning.

According to a senior official of the state Crime Investigation Department (CID), at least 21 of the passengers were from Gujarat.

"We have learnt that 21 passengers were from Gujarat and some of them have reached their homes in the state. Our teams are in the field right now and have already begun questioning them," Superintendent of Police, CID (Crime), Sanjay Kharat said.

The police will try to find out how the passengers were contacted for possible illegal immigration into the US, how they were to go to the US from Nicaragua, and which agents were involved, he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Mr Kharat said the CID has formed four teams to investigate the issue.

"The CID (crime) wants to take action against agents who promised help with entering the US and other countries (illegally). We have formed four teams which will get information about the promises made by these agents to the passengers," he added.

Meanwhile, the police in Mehsana swung into action after some media reports suggested most of the passengers were from the district.

Mehsana SP Achal Tyagi said a local police team visited a location to verify claims that Kiran Patel, an agent, was part of the immigration network.

"We don't have any specific information about Mehsana residents on that flight. Since some reports suggested that people from Mehsana were on the flight, we have sought a list of passengers from the immigration department," Mr Tyagi said.

He added that Kiran Patel was not found at his Mehsana home since he moved several years ago.

Talking to reporters on Tuesday, Mr Kharat said the state CID has so far received "raw information" regarding agents involved in the incident and would be able to find out more after questioning the passengers.

Different agents are involved in illegal immigration work in tandem, he said.

"The agents working at the village and district levels are small players controlled by a kingpin who works at the international level," he said.

The Gujarat police will investigate and get a clear picture of how they operate, he said.

The chartered flight, operated by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines and bound for Nicaragua, landed at Vatry airport near Paris on December 21 after taking off from Dubai when the French police intervened.

French authorities launched a judicial investigation into the conditions and purpose of the trip, with a unit specialising in organised crime investigating suspected human trafficking.

Nicaragua has become a popular destination for those seeking asylum in the US. As many as 96,917 Indians attempted to enter the US illegally in the financial year 2023, signalling a 51.61 per cent jump from the previous year, according to data made available by the US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).

At least 41,770 of those Indians attempted to enter the US via the Mexican land border, CBP data shows. Flights to Nicaragua or third countries, for which it is easier to obtain travel documents, have come to be known as 'donkey' flights.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)