A charter plane that was grounded in France for a human trafficking investigation arrived in India with 276 Indians aboard early Tuesday, authorities said. The passengers had been heading to Nicaragua but were instead blocked inside the Vatry Airport for four days in an exceptional holiday ordeal.
Prosecutors wouldn’t comment on whether the passengers’ ultimate destination could have been the US, which has seen a surge in Indians crossing the Mexico-US border this year.
Following a human trafficking tip-off, a French airport was taken over by police for days and then turned into a makeshift courtroom as judges, lawyers and interpreters filled the terminal to carry out emergency hearings.