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CRIME

Unaccompanied minors on plane held in France over suspected trafficking

A murky case of suspected human trafficking has left French authorities puzzled.

French gendarmes patrol around a terminal at Vatry airport, north-eastern France.
French gendarmes patrol around a terminal at Vatry airport, north-eastern France. (Photo by FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI / AFP)

Ten Indian passengers among more than 300 on a Nicaragua-bound plane held in France over suspected human trafficking, have applied for asylum, a source close to the case told AFP Saturday.

The plane has been held at Vatry airport, 150 kilometres (95 miles) east of Paris, since arriving from Dubai on Thursday following an anonymous tip-off that it was carrying potential victims of human trafficking.

The Paris prosecutor’s office said there was 11 unaccompanied minors on board the Airbus jet, although regional authorities earlier pinned the number at 13.

Six of the minors also expressed an interest in applying for asylum, Aurore Opyrchal, a lawyer appointed by the region to represent some of the passengers, told AFP.

French authorities have not yet confirmed the passenger details.

The 303 passengers of the flight operated by Romanian company Legend Airlines were still in the airport’s entrance hall on Saturday morning, an AFP reporter saw.

Hearings are due to be held Sunday before a judge who has the authority to extend the detention order being use by border police by another eight days.

Tarpaulin covered the entrance hall’s glass exterior and nearby administrative buildings, while police and gendarmes prevented access.

Detention for two extended

Two passengers in custody since Friday had their detention extended Saturday evening for up to 48 hours, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.

They were being held “in order to verify” whether their role “may have been different than the others in this transport, and under what conditions and with what objectives”, they said.

Investigators have checked the identity of passengers and flight crew, and are verifying the “conditions and purposes” of their travel, the prosecutor added.

The Indian Embassy in Paris said Saturday that it was working for “a rapid resolution of the situation”, posting on X that “consular officials are on site”.

Liliana Bakayoko, a lawyer for the airline, said all crew members had been questioned and allowed to leave.

A source close to the inquiry told AFP that some of the Indian passengers were likely workers in the United Arab Emirates who may have sought to go to Nicaragua on their way to the United States or Canada.

Authorities said they have installed camp beds and portable toilets at the airport and are providing meals for the passengers as the inquiry continues.

According to the Flightradar tracking site, Legend Airlines has a fleet of just four aircraft, and its unmarked Airbus jet remained immobilised on the Vatry tarmac on Saturday.

Legend “has operated only a few flights on this route, always for the same client” that is not based in Europe, the airline said in a statement.

It added that it would join any suit as a plaintiff if prosecutors open a case on trafficking charges.

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CRIME

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

French prosecutors have charged a 19-year-old man and a youth in the Paris region with planning a "terrorist" attack on Jewish targets, a judicial source told AFP on Friday.

Teens charged in France over plot to attack Jewish targets: judicial source

While no details on the pair have been released, French anti-terrorist investigators have expressed increased concern over the young age of some suspects detained in recent months for planning militant attacks.

The 19-year-old has been charged with “terrorist conspiracy” to commit attacks and the “acquisition and possession of arms for a terrorist enterprise,” said the judicial source, speaking on condition of anonymity.

READ ALSO: Anti-Semitism fears stalk Jewish voters’ choice in France

The youth aged under 18 was detained on June 13, the source said.

The pair made contact on social media and were planning a “a violent action notably aiming at Jewish targets,” said the source without giving details on the plot.

Anti-terrorism investigators say a growing number of youths have been held in recent months for preparing attacks.

READ ALSO: French election breakdown: TV debates, polling latest and anti-Semitism

“This is a necessarily worrying phenomenon,” senior anti-terrorist prosecutor Olivier Christen said at an evidentiary hearing on Wednesday.

French politicians have also condemned a growing number of attacks on the country’s Jewish community, the biggest outside Israel and the United States.

Outrage has been expressed over the rape of a 12-year-old Jewish girl in a park in the Paris suburbs last Saturday. Two 13-year-old boys have been charged with rape and making anti-Semitic insults.

Several protest rallies have been held in Paris and other French cities over the case which comes as France prepares for a national election in which the far-right National Rally party is tipped to make major gains. 

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