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PARIS (Reuters) – The custody of the two passengers of the flight grounded at Paris-Vatry airport (Marne), due to suspicion of human trafficking, was lifted on Monday, the Paris prosecutor’s office said.
The two men were referred to the Paris judicial court for a presentation before a judge, added the prosecution.
A judicial investigation was opened on charges of “aiding the entry, movement or illegal stay of foreigners” and “participation in a criminal association”.
The Airbus A340 of the Romanian company Legend Airlines was operating a flight between Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Nicaragua on Thursday with 303 Indian passengers on board. He was making a technical stopover in France when he was immobilized following anonymous information suggesting possible human trafficking.
Police custody measures were decided on Friday against two passengers in order to check whether their role “could have been different from that of the others”.
The seizure of the plane was lifted on Sunday by the courts, allowing the aircraft to take off again and the passengers to leave the territory.
However, it was unclear what time the plane might take off, to which destination and with how many passengers, some of whom had requested political asylum in France.
(Written by Kate Entringer)
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