Page 2 - Human Trafficking

25 Indians from grounded plane seeking asylum in France freed: Reports

Twenty-five Indian passengers who had stayed behind seeking asylum in France after their flight from the UAE was grounded last week over suspicion of human trafficking before being allowed to take off for India have now been freed, according to local French media reports on Wednesday. These 25 passengers were not on the flight carrying 276 mostly Indian passengers which took off for Mumbai on Monday afternoon after four days of being held at Chlons-Vatry airport near Paris. The 'Le Monde' newspaper quoted prosecutors to say that the local judge had ordered their release on formal grounds, considering that the head of the border police at France's main Charles De Gaulle airport "had not referred the case to him" within the timeframe stipulated by law. "They are therefore free to do as they please, even if they are in an irregular situation on French territory," the Bobigny public prosecutor's office told the French newspaper. The 25 passengers, who had applied for political asylum i

Plane grounded in France over human trafficking lands in Mumbai

A charter plane carrying 276 passengers, mostly Indians, which was grounded in France for four days over suspected human trafficking, landed in Mumbai on Tuesday, an official said. The Nicaragua-bound flight operated by a Romanian company was detained for four days at Vatry airport near France. The aircraft, an Airbus A340, landed in Mumbai shortly after 4 am, the official said. It had taken off from Vatry airport around 2.30 pm local time. The charter flight that carried 303 passengers had taken off from Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and was grounded at the Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, on Thursday over suspected human trafficking. According to French authorities, the plane had 276 passengers on board when it took off for Mumbai, and 25 persons, including two minors, had expressed the wish to apply for asylum and were still on French soil. Two others, who were brought before a judge, were released and placed on assisted witness status, a French news channel said.

France to decide on extending stay of 303 passengers of grounded flight

Four French judges on Sunday began questioning the 303 passengers, mostly Indians, of a Nicaragua-bound flight detained by French authorities at Vatry airport, 150 km east of Paris, since Thursday over suspected "human trafficking", according to local media reports. "The judges have the authority to extend the detention order being used by border police by eight days initially and for another eight if required. They have two days to complete speaking to the passengers. The judges are being helped by translators, said a report in Le Monde' newspaper. According to the French media, some of the passengers spoke Hindi and others Tamil and are believed to have contacted their families by telephone. Ten of the passengers have requested asylum, the newspaper quoted a source close to the case as saying. The plane includes 11 unaccompanied minors and two passengers in custody since Friday had their detention extended on Saturday evening for up to 48 hours, according to French prosecutors. T

France grounds flight carrying 303 Indians on human trafficking suspicion

French authorities grounded a flight from the United Arab Emirates to Nicaragua carrying 303 Indian passengers after receiving a tip that it could be carrying victims of human trafficking, prosecutors said on Friday. Special investigators are questioning all those aboard and two people are in custody pending further examination, the Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement. It said an anonymous tip signalled that the flight, operated by Romania-based charter company Legend Airlines, was carrying people who could be victims of human trafficking. It was grounded Thursday after it stopped for refuelling in the city of Vatry east of Paris. The passengers initially remained in the A340 plane but were then transferred into the main hall of the small Vatry airport, where cots were set up for them to stay overnight, the administration for the Marne region said. Investigators from a specialised French organised crime unit, border police and aviation gendarmes are working on the ...

China raises stakes in cyberscam crackdown in Myanmar, despite loopholes

China is ramping up a crackdown on online scams operated by criminal syndicates in border areas of military-ruled Myanmar in an effort that has included a shootout, confession videos and national TV broadcasts of arrests of high-profile suspects. But the drive has been confined to a limited area and appears unlikely to root out the kingpins behind the human trafficking and other illicit activities aimed at cheating people of their savings via phone calls and online overtures, schemes that are thought to generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue a year. Over the summer, China announced a series of joint operations with neighbouring countries that led to thousands of people being returned to China, many of whom had been lured by the promise of high-paying jobs. Experts say many are victims who were forced into conducting the scams. Those campaigns did not include arrests of ring leaders in Myanmar. As soon as we discover them, we hand them over, said Lu Jiantang, the vice-chair

Spa centres, hotels raided across Gujarat in crackdown on flesh trade

The Gujarat police have arrested more than 100 people after raiding 805 spas, massage parlours, and hotels as part of a state-wide drive against flesh trade, the government said in a release on Friday. The mega crackdown was carried out on Thursday, a day after Gujarat Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi directed police officials to raid all premises that were suspected of running flesh trade in the guise of legal business. During his interaction with senior police officers via video conferencing, Sanghavi expressed the Gujarat government's resolve to eradicate the flesh trade being run at hotels and in the guise of spa centres, said the release. Accordingly, the police raided 851 locations across the state on Thursday and arrested 105 persons involved in illegal activities, said the release, adding 103 FIRs (first information reports) have been registered. The police have initiated a process to cancel the licences of 27 spa centres and hotels for being involved in illegal ..

Underpaid, vulnerable & often abused, domestic helps need a helping hand

Today is International Domestic Workers' Day. The sector remains unregulated, but a clutch of start-ups is trying to change that

Human trafficking more dangerous than murder: Devendra Fadnavis

Human trafficking is more dangerous than murder, and social awareness coupled with a strong legal framework was needed to curb it, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said on Tuesday. Fadnavis, who also holds the Home portfolio, was speaking virtually at a panel discussion on 'Prevention of commercial sex trafficking of women', organised jointly by the Maharashtra State Women Commission and 'Alliance against Centres for Trafficking' here. "Human trafficking is a very big challenge before us. It is said that drugs trade is the biggest trade in the world but unfortunately human trafficking is to some extent, along with drugs trade, becoming a big trade. Women and children are most vulnerable to it," he said. Its victims suffer a lot, and it is a far more dangerous crime than murder, the deputy CM added. Human trafficking is an issue transcending boundaries, and social awareness and a people's movement along with a strong legal framework were needed to curb it, he ...

Foreign secretary raises human trafficking issue during Myanmar visit: MEA

Reportedly, 38 Indian nationals, who were duped of job offers in Myanmar and were made to work under harsh conditions, were repatriated to India earlier this month

Goan youth are trafficked abroad on pretext of highly paid jobs: CM Sawant

Sawant said that few youths contacted his office complaining that one agent had taken amount to the tune of Rs 5 lakh from each person to create passport and Visa.

Auction of girls in Rajasthan: State women commission chief chairs meeting

The chairperson of Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Sangeeta Beniwal on Saturday held a meeting at the Collectorate in Bhilwara following reports of girls auctioned on stamp papers in the area.The District Collector, Superintendent of Police, and other officials were present for the meeting."I came to know from DSP and Collector that this case is from 2019. At that time, police presented a challan of 25 people in court. Out of 6 girls, 4 have been rehabilitated & 2 are in girls' homes as they're from other states. I'll reach them soon and get complete information," said RSCPCR chief, Sangeeta Beniwal.Earlier, Rajasthan, chief minister Ashok Gehlot said that the Congress party had exposed such cases which had been happening during the previous regime of the BJP in the state."The incident happened in 2005 when BJP was in power. In 2019, we came and exposed it. ...21 accused were arrested, three died and one is absconding. Two children died, and the rest ..

Women trafficking rife in Bihar's Seemanchal; locals says problem endemic

According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Bihar reported 111 human trafficking cases in 2021, an increase from 75 cases in 2020

Tamil Nadu police step up probe after 13 Sri Lankan Tamils held in Kerala

A senior officer with the Tamil Nadu police told IANS that the investigation is centered around two agents who were involved in bringing these people from Sri Lanka to India

Centre to introduce anti-trafficking Bill in Monsoon Session of Parliament

A bill that seeks to prevent and combat trafficking, especially of women and children, will be introduced in the upcoming monsoon session of Parliament beginning Monday

R Kelly sentenced to 30 years in sex trafficking, racketeering charges

R Kelly, 55, was convicted of racketeering and sex trafficking last year at a trial that gave voice to accusers who had once wondered if their stories were being ignored because they were Black women

Death toll rises to 53 from human-trafficking tragedy in US Texas: Report

The death toll of migrants found on Monday inside a sweltering 18-wheeler in San Antonio, a major city in the south-central US state of Texas, has risen to 53 after two more migrants died

National Commission for Women launches anti-human trafficking cell

The Cell will conduct gender sensitization training and workshops in combating human trafficking for police officers and for prosecutors at regional, state and district levels

Human trafficking suit spreads to Hindu temples in 5 states in US

A lawsuit in which workers accuse a Hindu organisation of human trafficking by luring them from India to build a temple in New Jersey for as little as $1.20 a day has widened to four other states

Parents lost to Covid-19, young lives fall vulnerable to exploitation

The pandemic has exacerbated the crisis for the most vulnerable sections, and children who have lost a parent or have been orphaned are among the worst hit

India making efforts towards eliminating human trafficking: US report

India made significant efforts towards the elimination of human trafficking in 2019, but did not fully meet the minimum standards, according to a US report.