The French officials grounded a Nicaragua-bound plane carrying more than 300 Indian passengers over suspected “human trafficking,” AFP reported citing prosecutors.
The Airbus A340 had flown in from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Thursday, landing at Vatry Airport in eastern France for a technical stopover.
It was held by the French authorities after an anonymous tip-off that it was carrying passengers “likely to be victims of human trafficking,” the Paris prosecutors office told AFP. The two men in custody were among the passengers.
“Identity checks are being carried on the 303 passengers and on the cabin crew,” said the prosecutor’s office.
They were also checking the conditions in which the passengers were being transported and the purpose of their journey.
A source close to the case said that minors were among the passengers.
The national anti-organized crime unit JUNALCO is leading the investigation, said prosecutors.
According to a source familiar with the case, the passengers might have planned to travel to Central America in order to attempt illegal entry into the United States or Canada.
After landing in France, they were first kept on the aircraft but then let out and given individual beds in the terminal building.
They were set to remain at the airport overnight Friday, local authorities said.
The Indian Embassy in France said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that the authorities in Paris had informed them of the situation.
“Embassy team has reached & obtained consular access,” it added. “We are investigating the situation, also ensuring wellbeing of passengers.”
On Friday, police and gendarmes cordoned off the entire airport and white tarpaulin sheets covered the bay windows of the airport’s arrivals hall, an AFP journalist at the scene noted.
