A plane stuck for days in France for a human trafficking investigation leaves for India
France for a human trafficking investigation departed on Monday for India, after an exceptional holiday ordeal that left about 300 Indians en route to Central America blocked inside a rural French airport for four days.
Associated Press reporters outside the Vatry Airport in Champagne country saw the unmarked Legend Airlines A340 take off after the crew and about 200 other people boarded the plane. It wasn't immediately clear what would happen with those who didn't board the plane.
The passengers grounded in France included a 21-month-old child and 11 unaccompanied minors who were put under special administrative care.
Several passengers have requested asylum in France, according to an official with the Marne regional prefecture.
Two passengers were detained and are appearing before a judge Monday to face possible charges including involvement in an organized criminal group helping foreigners enter or stay in a country illegally, the Paris prosecutor's office said.
It did not specify whether human trafficking — which the U.N.
defines as «the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of people through force, fraud or deception, with the aim of exploiting them for profit» — is still suspected, as prosecutors initially said.
French authorities are still investigating the aim of the original flight. The Legend Airlines A340 plane stopped Thursday for refueling in Vatry en route from Fujairah airport in the United Arab Emirates for Managua, Nicaragua, and was grounded by police based on an anonymous tip that it could be carrying human trafficking victims.
Prosecutors wouldn't comment on whether the passengers' ultimate destination could have been the U.S., which has seen a surge in Indians crossing the
