Agent from Valsad found to be involved in booking illegal Nicaragua flight
Updated: Jan 14th, 2024
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| Plane landing in France (img: Pexels) |
Updated on Jan 14, at 5.30 p.m.
A team headed by the superintendent of police, CID Crime, has been formed to probe the case of 66 Gujaratis nabbed in France who were illegally aiming to cross the US border through Nicaragua.
Upon interrogation, the authorities found the names of 14 agents running this illegal business. An agent named Jayesh Patel, who lives in Valsad played a key role in booking the flight from Dubai to Nicaragua.
As per current police information, Patel has gone absconding overseas along with some other agents.
The CID Crime has sought help from other international agencies along with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as it is an overseas case.
Updated on Dec 29, 2023 at 5.30 p.m.
After the interception of the Nicaragua-bound flight in France, around 30 Gujaratis refrained from boarding another such flight in Dubai on Dec 22, reported to have been heading to the central American country as well.
The flight was supposed to carry the group from Dubai to the Nicaraguan capital, Managua. But the 30 aborted their journey in Dubai and were reported to have been flown back to India over the Romanian plane’s detention in France.
Updated on Dec 28, 2023 at 11.15 a.m.
In the latest development, 25 passengers have been reportedly rejected from the asylum by French authorities. The remaining 25 passengers out of the 303 who sought asylum in France will reportedly return to India.
Moreover, 21 passengers who returned to Gujarat and their families refused to disclose anything. Many of them have fled to different cities, away from their homes, in order to avoid the investigation.
On the other hand, to break down the racket, the union home ministry has issued guidelines to carry out investigations in all the states in the same manner.
The state home department or state monitoring cell of the respective state will lead the investigation.
Updated on Dec 26, 2023 at 8.30 p.m.
A Nicaragua-bound chartered flight with 303 passengers, including 96 Gujaratis on board, which was held in France, returned with 276 passengers, mostly Indians. While 25 of the passengers, including two minors, have sought asylum in France itself.
According to reports, most of the passengers who landed in Mumbai were from the states of Punjab and Haryana. They were seen exiting the airport compound, with their faces covered with masks and handkerchiefs, to hide their identity.
Updated on Dec 26, 2023 at 10.10 a.m.
After being detained for four days in France over human trafficking, the Nicaragua-bound flight landed in Mumbai earlier today.
On Dec 25, the two detenues were set free, and the Airbus A-340 charter flight of Legend Airlines, was also cleared for take-off.
After the French police and judicial authorities completed their investigations, the flight was permitted to take off around 2.30 p.m. (local time) from Vatry Airport and landed in Mumbai after 4 a.m. (IST) today.
The Delhi-based mastermind of human trafficking, Shashi Reddy, was orchestrating one more illegal voyage of 300 Indians to Dubai by Feb 2024.
Updated on Dec 25, 2023 at 1.30 p.m.
According to local media reports, the plane was allowed to fly by French authorities, however, the destination of the plane is not disclosed yet. Speculations are afloat over the carrier’s destination, whether it's Nicaragua- the flight’s original destination, Dubai- from where the flight took off, or India- where the passengers are from.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in France has ordered Legend Airlines to send details of the passengers. They have also informed the police of different states in India to start the investigation.
Notably, the same route to Nicaragua was used five times before this, carrying over 1200 Indians collectively.
Updated on Dec 25, 2023 at 5.00 p.m.
Over 300 Indians, including 96 Gujaratis, await a verdict on their fate, currently detained at the Vatry airport, a relatively low-traffic airport of France, west to 160 km of Paris.
The detainees, both part-conspirators and victims, have fallen to prey in one of the most-talked about issues of the country- the ambition to go to the USA, ironically called the land of the free, in search of a better life.
Gujarat, in particular, has been plagued by the US bug quite effectively. Frequently, cases of people trying to cross the US border illegally, either from Canada in the north and Mexico in the south, surface.
At worse, the perpetrators get caught, at worst, they lose their lives to cold, hunger, and injuries.
Gujaratis on the flight, detained in France, hailed from the state’s Mahesana, Patan, Gandhinagar, Banaskantha, and Kalol.
This time around, an unlikely fuel stop has cut their journey short. According to reports, the detainees had taken a flight from India to Dubai, UAE, and then would fly to Nicaragua in a chartered flight. They were reportedly charged ₹40-70 lakh each, to get them to the US illegally.
The stop at Vatry was inevitable for the Romanian chartered, as the flight that departed from the UAE would need fuel in France to cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach their destination in central America.
The flight was intercepted by an organisation in France working against human trafficking. Two of the detainees were questioned, while others were provided beddings for the chilly December night of France.
The Indian Embassy officials have been in touch with the Indian detainees.
According to France’s civilian protection department, the flight also had juveniles aged as young as 21 months, to 17 years. 13 of these were travelling without any adult guardian.
Nicaragua, a country south to Mexico in central America, has a history of people commuting from its forests to Mexico, and eventually to the US-Mexico border.
The 3,200km journey from Nicaragua to the US goes through the infamous Darién Gap, and is executed by private vehicles carrying the illegal aspirants, and even walking for days, only to reach the border, and illegally go through it.
The gap, often termed ‘lawless’, is a playground of drug mafias and rebels, who often loot and exploit such aspirants, too.
The aspirants would pay their agent after reaching the US-Mexico border, months after they had left the home. The agent, however, would be paid half the amount upfront before they left India.
The whole backdoor operation was reportedly run by an accused named Shashi Reddy of Delhi, who reportedly has sent 1,200 Indians to the USA illegally so far.
His method involved charging ₹70-80 lakh a person, creating their forged documents for aspirants, and getting them to Nicaragua and eventually Mexico.
According to reports, 8-10 agents of Reddy also operate in north Gujarat.
