Plane row: Gujarat police suspect wide network of human traffickers across state

Ahmedabad: The Gujarat police, which questioned 45 Nicaraguan-bound passengers, have found one common factor, a big-time human trafficker who has spread a network of agents across districts in the state. These agents were charging anything between Rs 60 lakh and Rs 1.2 crore from individuals for sending them to the United States via the Mexico border.

CID (crime) officials said that by Saturday, they questioned 45 passengers forced to return from France who were on their way to Nicaragua. They were part of 303 Indian passengers who had boarded a chartered plane in Dubai to reach Nicaragua but were grounded midway by French authorities after they received a tip-off claiming human trafficking.

"We have questioned 45 passengers till now. One common factor that has emerged is a big-time agent involved in human trafficking, under whom there is a wide network of agents spread across the state. We are trying to look into all aspects of the case for lodging a formal complaint," said a CID (crime) officer who is part of the investigation.

When asked about the profile of these passengers, the officer said that most of them are semiliterate but can't speak English. These passengers were travelling with valid passports and visas.

"As of today, we don't have anything for filing a case against them but we are looking into the documents submitted for obtaining visas. We are checking for any illegality in the whole affair. As of today, no one wants to file any complaint against the agents," the officer said.

Officials said that in their statements, the passengers mentioned that they were travelling voluntarily and wanted to settle in the United States for better earnings and opportunities. Most of them have relatives or friends who are already settled in the US.

"We are trying to find out what promises were made to them, what kind of jobs they were promised, money, and quality of life, among other angles. We hope that some of them will come forward with complaints against the agents," an officer said.