The CID (crime) branch of the Gujarat Police said on January 2 that it has identified around 15 immigration agents who were reportedly involved in organising an attempt to enter the U.S. illegally. Agents convinced people to take a chartered Legend Airlines flight to South America for the crossing. The flight was returned en route, from France on suspicion of human trafficking.
The flight which took off from Dubai was detained in France. The CID said the flight bound for Nicaragua had more than 60 people from Gujarat on board. Each of these passengers agreed to pay between ₹60 lakh to ₹80 lakh to immigration agents. The agents promised to help them cross into the U.S. illegally after reaching Latin America.
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66 Gujaratis on board
According to a senior State Police official, around 66 passengers from Gujarat, have reached their hometowns and police have recorded statements of several people to locate the agents involved.
“We have already questioned 55 of them and recorded their statements. A majority of them have educations ranging from Class 8 to 12. All of them admitted that they agreed to pay ₹60 lakh to ₹80 lakh to the local immigration agents to help them cross into the U.S. illegally after reaching Nicaragua via Dubai,” CID (crime) Superintendent of Police (SP) Sanjay Kharat told media on Tuesday. Mr. Kharat is investigating the case.
During the interrogation police determined that 15 agents and their contacts were involved. They promised to help passengers enter the U.S. illegally through the U.S.-Mexico border.
The police claimed that the agents lured people by promising to help them into the U.S. and make all the arrangements including flight tickets, visas and other documents.
The police claimed that the passengers were required to pay only after reaching the U.S.
The agents told passengers that their men would take them to the U.S. border from Nicaragua and then help them cross the border. The agents booked air tickets for these passengers and provided $1,000 to $3,000 to each passenger for emergencies.
The passengers from Gujarat apparently reached Dubai from Ahmedabad, Mumbai and Delhi between December 10 and 20. Their flight took off from Dubai.
Chartered flight, visas, cash
The agency has sought the help of the CBI to locate the people who booked the chartered flight from Dubai and how visas for Nicaragua were procured.
Passengers boarded the Nicaragua-bound aircraft belonging to a private airline at Fujairah International Airport on December 21, a release issued by the CID said on Tuesday.
The Police are also investigating how the Dubai visas of the passengers were obtained and who paid the visa fees and air tickets from India to Dubai and onwards to Nicaragua.
The chartered flight, operated by Romanian charter company Legend Airlines and bound for Nicaragua, landed at Vatry near Paris on December 21 for a technical stopover en route from Dubai when the French police intervened after they received a tip off about potential human trafficking.
The French authorities launched a judicial investigation into the conditions and purpose of the trip, with a unit specialising in organised crime investigating suspected human trafficking.
However, after four days, the flight was allowed to take off and return to Mumbai early on December 26.
The Police have not shared details about the number of men, women and minors on the flight.
During the detention in France, 25 passengers refused to return to India and sought asylum in France.
