A flight with 303 passengers – most of whom were Indians – on its way to Nicaragua was allowed to resume its journey on Monday, three days after French authorities detained it near Paris over suspected “human trafficking” . It is unclear where the plane would head now – to India, where most of its passengers are from, to Nicaragua, its original destination, or to Dubai, where it took off from. 

According to a report in news agency PTI, French judges chose to cancel the hearings of over 300 passengers due to irregularities of procedures and authorised the A340 aircraft, operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines, to leave. Four judges had earlier in the day begun questioning the passengers detained by the French authorities at Vatry airport, near Paris. 

The hearings were part of the Paris prosecutor’s office’s investigation on suspicion of human trafficking. 

As per the French media, some of the passengers spoke Hindi, while others spoke Tamil. They were allowed to contact their families by telephone. Ten of the passengers reportedly requested asylum. Two passengers in custody since Friday had their detention extended on Saturday for up to 48 hours. The plane also included 11 unaccompanied minors.

The plane was detained as it was suspected that the Indian passengers planned to reach Central America from where they could attempt to enter the US or Canada illegally. However, an anonymous tip indicated that the passengers were“likely to be victims of human trafficking” in an organised gang.                         

A lawyer for the Romanian charter company Legend Airlines denied any involvement in trafficking. The firm said that a “partner” company that chartered the plane was responsible for verifying the identity documents of each passenger and communicating the passengers’  passport information 48 hours prior to the flight.

India’s embassy in France said that its staff are stationed at the airport near Paris to ensure the welfare of the Indian nationals. Human trafficking carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in France. 

The embassy also thanked the French authorities for working long hours on Christmas holiday in order to ensure an “early resolution” of the situation. 

Also read: France grounds Nicaragua-bound flight carrying over 300 Indians over suspected human trafficking