Chad ? Three Spaniards detained in a charity’s alleged plot to take 103 African children to Europe returned home on a Spanish government jet Friday, after tense diplomatic negotiations with Chad.

The three flight crew members and a detained Belgian pilot – also due to leave Friday on a Belgian military aircraft – had been charged with complicity in the alleged kidnapping plot, Chadian lawyer Jean-Bernard Padare said. A judge later ordered their release.

Six workers with the French charity Zoe’s Ark remain in custody in Chad, charged with attempted kidnapping. A conviction could mean 20 years in prison at hard labor.

Seventeen Europeans in all were arrested after Zoe’s Ark was stopped on Oct. 25 from flying the children to Europe.