Flight carrying 250 people, many from India, grounded in Jamaica

A CHARTERED FLIGHT from Dubai with several Indian passengers, including around 75 from gujarat, was sent back from Jamaican capital Kingston, as local authorities were not satisfied with passengers’ documents

The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, said the flight left Kingston on May 7 for Dubai. "We understand that a Germany-registered chartered flight with Indians on board landed in Kingston from Dubai on May 2 for tourism. They had prior hotel bookings," Jaiswal said a this weekly media briefing. "The authorities were not satisfied with them being tourists. The flight and passengers were ordered to return to place of origin, Dubai. The passengers left Kingston on May 7," he said.

A report in Jamaica Observer said the flight had 253 foreigners and they were refused entry by immigration officials in view of security concerns. Jamaica's Ministry of National Security stated that local authorities routinely screen passenger flights for security threats, and possible breaches of law and/or regulations, the media outlet reported.

An officer of Gujarat Crime Investigation Department (CID) said the flight, now under investigation of central agencies, "had on board around 75 Gujaratis on a tourist visa”... several from Punjab are also suspected to be on board". It is suspected these tourists were planning to illegally immigrate to the US through the Mexico border.

Last December, a Nicaraguabound plane carrying Indians, was grounded in france and later sent back to India over suspicion of human trafficking.

The Gujarat CID had booked 14 agents on the charge of human trafficking for trying to send over 60 people from the state to the US illegally. At least 66 people from the state were among the 303 on board the Legend Airways plane that flew from Fujairah in UAE and was headed to Nicaragua.