France Stops Plane with Illegal Migrants, Many from Panjab

On 21 Dec, 303 Indian passengers boarded a Legend Airlines' A340 flight operated by the Romanian company, Legend Airlines, in Dubai. The plane stopped in Vatry, France for refueling. At Varty, based on a tip-off that alleged the plane was carrying suspected victims of trafficking, the plane was grounded for four days. Finally, on 27 Dec, 276 passengers emerged from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport. 27 passengers sought asylum in France. One-third of the passengers were from Gujarat and many were from Panjab. The passengers emerged from the airport with faces covered and were not allowed to meet the media. That silence persists for fear of action by authorities. A person named Shashi Kiran Reddy from Hyderabad seems to be the mastermind of the illegal human trafficking operation. Reddy was allegedly also the kingpin in the Dingucha case when on 19 Jan 2022 the bodies of Jagdish Patel (39), Vaishali (37), and their two children were discovered near Emerson, Manitoba, 12 meters from the Canada-US border. In this most recent case of the Legend Airlines flight, it is of grave concern that there were unescorted minors onboard, including a two-year-old. The flight incident gives credence to the fact that there is a lot of illegal migration from India, and human trafficking remains an issue. In SDW Vol. 1 Issue 8, Story 10, we reported that 97K Indians were apprehended for illegally entering the US between October 2022 and September 2023. Data from the Ministry of External Affairs show nearly 3,000 agencies in India known to have duped aspirants seeking employment abroad. The ministry received 682 complaints between January 2020 and November 2023. Panjab police have also formed a team to probe human trafficking.