Illegal immigration: 21 Gujarati passengers onboard plane detained in France return, CID begins probe

At least 21 passengers on board the Legend Airlines flight to Nicaragua that returned from Vatry airport in France, were from Gujarat and have landed back Wednesday.

The Gujarat State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) began interrogating them following concerns of the passengers being part of an illegal immigration and human trafficking racket.

According to officials of the Gujarat police, the passengers as well as their relatives will now be interrogated by the State CID to ascertain if they were part of an illegal immigration racket.

On Wednesday, 21 passengers from Gujarat, who were part of the 276 Indians aboard the chartered plane that remained grounded in Varty in France en route Nicaragua from Fujairah in United Arab Emirates, arrived in Gujarat. 

The passengers are said to belong to districts of Banaskantha, Mehsana, Gandhinagar, Anand, and Patan.

Teams of the State CID have been formed to probe into the alleged racket of human trafficking and illegal immigration to track down the agents, who may have helped the Gujarati residents in travelling to Nicaragua from where they were allegedly looking to sneak into the United States of America.

Even as the district police teams have begun a search for approximately six Gujarati agents, who are involved in the racket, Superintendent of Police, CID, Sanjay Kharat told sources that teams of the CID will now begin questioning the 21 passengers.