
About 300 Indian nationals, all of whom are believed to be victims of human trafficking, are now held at a tiny airport in France’s Champagne region. On Sunday, French judges will decide whether to release them or not.
Passengers aboard a flight to Central America have been detained at Paris-Vatry Airport since Thursday after a stunning police operation, according to officials. A tip about a potential human trafficking plan triggered the operation.
Judges will determine if the travelers’ airport detention will be extended.
Four hearings will be held by four separate judges concurrently due to the urgency of the matter. There will be four clerks, attorneys, Indian citizens, and interpreters.
The goal is to reroute them out of France. The prefecture said the requisite authorizations should be obtained “no later than Monday morning” for the jet to take off again.
Young people and their families were among the travelers. The local civil protection office has reported that there are several unaccompanied youngsters among the children, the youngest of whom is a 21-month-old baby.
The Paris prosecutor’s office said that two travelers were taken into custody as part of a special investigation into alleged human trafficking by a criminal organization. There has been an influx of Indians crossing the Mexico–United States border this year, but prosecutors have been tight-lipped about the nature of the suspected trafficking and whether or not the final destination was the United States.
The Mexican Immigration Agency reports that the number of Indian migrants passing through the country has surged from less than 3,000 in 2022 to over 11,000 so far this year, spanning from January to November. The number of Indian nationals apprehended for unlawfully entering the United States from Mexico more than quadrupled from 18,308 the previous year to 41,770 in the fiscal year that concluded on September 30th.