In a continued investigation into illegal emigrations to the US through chartered flights, the CID (Crime and Railways) has uncovered a third flight originating from Dubai to Nicaragua on December 6. This revelation brings the total number of such known trips to three.
On December 21, French authorities halted a plane with 303 passengers, including 96 from Gujarat, at Vatry airport due to suspicions of human smuggling. Two days prior, a chartered flight had made a stopover in Germany.
“Around two more flights carrying Indians, including Gujaratis, were identified before the grounding incident in France on December 21. We have confirmed one flight to Nicaragua from Dubai on December 6,” stated a senior officer from CID (Crime).
The same agents, currently under investigation for the flight via France, were found to be involved in the December 6 trip. Sanjay Kharat, SP of CID (Crime), mentioned that passengers booked at Vatry airport were questioned, and although their documents were valid, they intended to enter the US illegally. A court at Vatry airport permitted the plane’s return to India on December 24, with only 276 passengers.
In the flight preceding this one, approximately 200 passengers, including 60 from Gujarat, had a technical halt in Germany for 10-12 hours. Some of these illegal immigrants might have entered the US, while others were reportedly in Mexico, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The agents facilitating these chartered flights via Vatry and Germany remained the same, reinforcing the connection between the trips.