After a four-day detention in Paris, over suspected human trafficking, an alleged donkey flight, Airbus A340, operated by Romanian Legends Airlines and carrying around 303 passengers, mostly from India landed in Mumbai early this morning. It had taken off from Vatry airport near Paris at 2:30 local time and landed in Mumbai at 4 am. Majority of the passengers were from Haryana and Punjab
As per reports, smugglers have been hiring chartered planes to traffic illegal immigrants where the offshore handlers facilitate their entry into the United States through the donkey route of the Mexican border
Table of Contents
Details of the passengers
Out of 303 passengers including 11 unaccompanied minors were suspected to be illegal immigrants and victims of human trafficking. The flight was stopped for refueling at France’s Vatry airport near Paris and was heading to Nicaragua.
Make-shift beds, access to toilets and showers and meals were provided to the stranded passengers at Vatry airport during their four-day detention. They went through an immigration procedure and their statements were recorded. The reports suggest that the Indians on the flight were workers from the UAE who might have planned to use Nicaragua as a pathway for going to USA. Nicaragua is a popular spot for those seeking a donkey route
20 adults and five minors decided to seek asylum in France. They were shifted to Paris’s Charles de Gaulle airport. Asylum seekers are individuals who seek refuge in another nation due to human rights violations or persecution According to International law asylum seekers cannot be returned to their country of origin forcibly. The right to asylum is considered a fundamental right in Geneva Convention on the Protection of Refugees.
Why was the flight grounded?
The flight was grounded after receiving a tip-off that the passengers were likely to be the victims of human trafficking. Currently, the investigation is under JUNALCO, France’s anti-organized crime unit. If proven, the crime of human traffic carries a potential sentence of up to 20 years in France. The plan may be linked to a syndicate attempting to smuggle people into the United States of America.
This flight came under the radar of the enforcement agencies as the passengers had only one way trips. The kingpin in the case Shashi Kiran from Hyderabad, regularly arranged flights to Nicaragua that halted at Vatry Airport, 150km from Paris.
What is donkey flight?
Based on the Punjabi word “Dunki” which means to hop from place to place. These are used to describe routes that people use to leave third-world countries with lenient travel documentation to reach developed countries like the United States, United Kingdom and Canada.
It’s the fraudulent travel agents who exploit people’s emotions with aspirations to travel to foreign countries and live their dreams. They promise them vivas in exchange for hefty payments. Common tactics used by the agents are- forging documents, illegal border crossings etc
The West has the highest illegal population from India
Pew Research Center’s recent study stated that the third largest illegal immigrant population in the United States of America hails from India. California, Florida, New Jersey, and New York have the highest number of these illegal immigrants. Currently, a total of 7,25,000 Indians live illegally in the USA.
The flight’s halt at Nicaragua raised eyebrows, as in the recent past, central American nation has seen a surge in people looking for asylum in America. According to USA’s Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), there has been a 51.61 percent increase from 2022 with 96,917 Indian illegal immigrants. Close to 41,770 of them have attempted to enter the USA through the Mexican land borderMany illegal immigrants lose their lives while taking these dangerous donkey routes.
