More than 60 people from Gujarat on board the Nicaragua-bound plane that was sent back from France over suspected human trafficking, had agreed to pay about Rs8 million ($130,000) each to immigration agents. The agents had apparently promised to get them into the United States illegally after reaching the Latin American country, officials told NDTV.
The Legend Airlines aircraft, an Airbus A340 carrying 303 passengers including 260 Indians, had taken off from Fujairah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates on Dec 21.
When the plane stopped at Vatry Airport in Paris for refuelling, it was grounded by police based on an anonymous tip-off that it could be carrying human trafficking victims.
After a four-day grounding, it landed in Mumbai in the early hours of Dec 26.
According to Superintendent of Police (Crime Investigation Department) Sanjay Kharat, among the passengers were 66 Gujarat natives, including some children. They were mostly from Mehsana, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Anand districts.
“We have already questioned 55 of them,” he told NDTV. “Each of them admitted that they had agreed to pay up to Rs80 lakh to local immigration agents to help them cross into the US illegally after reaching Nicaragua via Dubai.”
The state CID is questioning 15 agents, who allegedly promised to help the 55 enter the US illegally through the Mexico border.
“These agents had asked the 55 persons to pay the money only after reaching the US, and that their men would take them to the US,” said SP Kharat. “The agents had also booked the air tickets and gave up to US$3,000 to each passenger to deal with any emergency situation.”
The CID is collecting more information about how the agents operated – such as how they acquired Dubai and Nicaragua visas, their bank details and who booked the flight tickets from Dubai.
“The CID wants to take action against the agents who had promised to help the victims enter the US and other countries illegally. We have formed four teams which will get information from the victims regarding the promises made to them by these agents,” SP Kharat said.
“We want to know how these people came into contact with the agents, or whether the agents contacted them. We have identified people who could give us information into the illegal racket, and they are being questioned.”
Flights to Nicaragua or Third World countries where obtaining travel documents is relatively easy, are now known in India as “Dunki” or “Donkey” flights.
In a sheer coincidence, the grounding of the Legends Airlines aircraft took place on Dec 21, the same day the Bollywood movie Dunki, starring Shah Rukh Khan and Taapsee Pannu, was released.
The film deals with illegal migration, and revolves around a group of friends attempting to reach the United Kingdom through a “donkey route”.
Nicaragua has become a popular destination for those seeking asylum in the US. Gujarat CID’s investigations have revealed that two other “Donkey” flights involving people from the state were arranged from Dubai on Dec 6 and Dec 19.
The same agents, who are being questioned for the flight via France, were involved,” said SP Kharat.
As many as 96,917 Indians attempted to enter the US illegally in 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.
Indo-Asian News Service
