The Ahmedabad CID probing the human smuggling angle in the France plane intercepting incident has reportedly made major headway in untangling the trafficking network.
The Nicaragua-bound chartered flight was intercepted in France’s Vatry Airport, which had several Indian passengers flying to the south American country, in an alleged bid to sneak into the US through illegal route.
The CID is preparing to file charges against 66 Gujaratis linked to the incident. Initially passengers on a flight from Ahmedabad, they have been termed victims of an illegal immigration racket. The agents responsible, ten in total from North Gujarat and Ahmedabad, face serious allegations of human trafficking and conspiracy.
Gujarat police sources have recorded statements of the families of two young children. These statements, include a detailed confession from the parents of a nine-month-old, born April 9, 2023.
They admitted to their involvement in a plot to migrate illegally to the United States, starting with a flight from Ahmedabad to Dubai.
They told interrogators that they met agents that could facilitate passage to US via France, Nicaragua.
A source from the Gujarat police shared, “The parents confessed to meeting a man in Kalol Taluka, Gandhinagar, who offered them US migration. He demanded payment within three years and gave them $2,500 for immediate expenses.”
This family then traveled to Nicaragua via Dubai, but their flight was unexpectedly grounded at Vatry Airport.
Similarly, the parents of a child born on August 2, 2021, disclosed their encounter with a man in Mehsana, who also promised them migration to the US. “They received the same amount of money for expenses and stayed at a hotel arranged by the smuggler. They too were promised jobs in the US,” added the police source.
The CID’s investigation revealed a complex scheme orchestrated by a network of agents. A mastermind, who arranged the chartered flight, was found to have exploited these individuals as cheap labour in the United States.
These findings emerged from recorded statements, indicating that while the Gujaratis boarded a flight in Ahmedabad, the Punjabis used a legal group visa for travel to Dubai between December 10 and 16.
All met at a Dubai hotel, funded by the smugglers who provided each person $2500. This amount covered their hotel stay and other expenses en route to Mexico. A senior CID official said the smugglers avoided online payment for the hotel to evade detection.
The CID is now seeking further information from the chartered flight operators in France and is tracing the travel and visa arrangements made by the agents. The investigation has also uncovered a well-planned route, known colloquially as the ‘Donkey Route’, which extends from Dubai through Nicaragua and Mexico, culminating in illegal entry into the US.
A CID official said they had prior knowledge of the flight’s illegal purpose. However, they chose to delay notifying US authorities to capture the smugglers with substantial evidence as they attempted to enter the US via Mexico.
Unfortunately, French authorities acted first, grounding the flight at Vatry Airport.
In a reassuring update, the CID confirmed that no children were missing from the flight that returned from France. “One was eight months old and the second was two year old. We had earlier recorded the statements of their parents who said that they were with the children and that no child is missing,” an official said.
The CID is now contacting flight operators to identify who booked the chartered flight and also collaborating with Punjab police to identify agents based in Punjab. The sleuths are also identifying the individual who booked the Dubai hotel, investigating human smugglers operating in Dubai, Nicaragua, India, and Mexico and examining tax returns of illegal immigrants.
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