France grounds Nicaragua-bound flight under suspicion of human trafficking
French authorities grounded a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Nicaragua carrying 303 Indian passengers after receiving a tip that it could be carrying victims of human trafficking, prosecutors said Friday.
Special investigators are questioning all those aboard and two people are in custody pending further examination, the Paris prosecutor’s office said in a statement.
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It said an anonymous tip signaled that the flight, operated by Romania-based charter company Legend Airlines, was carrying people who could be victims of human trafficking. It was grounded Thursday after it stopped for refueling in the city of Vatry east of Paris.
The passengers initially remained in the A340 plane but were then transferred into the main hall of the small Vatry airport, where cots were set up for them to stay overnight, the administration for the Marne region said.
Investigators from a specialized French organized crime unit, border police and aviation gendarmes are working on the case.
Legend Airlines did not immediately respond to a request for comment.