Thirteen unaccompanied minors are among more than 300 Indian passengers on a flight to Nicaragua detained in France on suspicion of human trafficking, authorities told AFP on Saturday.
The Airbus A340 has been held at Vatry airport, 150 kilometers east of Paris, since it arrived from Dubai on Thursday following an anonymous tip that it was carrying potential victims of human trafficking. The plane was carrying 13 unaccompanied minors, as well as accompanied minors aged 21 months to 17 years.
The 303 passengers from the Romanian Legend Airlines flight were still inside the airport entrance on Saturday morning, an AFP reporter saw. A tarp covered the glass wall of the entrance hall and nearby administrative buildings, and police and gendarmes blocked access.
Two passengers were detained Friday as part of the investigation. Liliana Bakayoko, a lawyer for the airline, said all crew members were questioned and allowed to leave. /BGNES
