Border Inspectors Find Girl Sealed In Piñata
Girl Was Meticulously Sealed Inside, But Able To Breathe
POSTED: 9:45 am PST November 12, 2004
UPDATED: 7:58 pm PST November 12, 2004
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Inspectors checking a car smuggler at the U.S. Mexican border found a girl hiding inside a piñata.
They say they've seen all kinds of attempts to smuggle people into the country, but this was an odd case.
Vince Bond of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection says officers at the Tecate Port of Entry found the girl when they removed several piñatas from the car and one seemed much heavier than the others.
The girl -- who's about 4 or 5 years old -- was meticulously sealed inside but she was able to breathe. The girl's mother was curled up inside the car's trunk, and her brother, who's about 9, was underneath the collapsible back seat.
They were voluntarily deported to Mexico and the driver plus a passenger of the car -- both American citizens -- were not arrested.
Bond says the sheer volume of immigrant-smuggling cases far exceeds the government's ability to prosecute all smugglers.
Girl Was Meticulously Sealed Inside, But Able To Breathe
POSTED: 9:45 am PST November 12, 2004
UPDATED: 7:58 pm PST November 12, 2004
SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- Inspectors checking a car smuggler at the U.S. Mexican border found a girl hiding inside a piñata.
They say they've seen all kinds of attempts to smuggle people into the country, but this was an odd case.
Vince Bond of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection says officers at the Tecate Port of Entry found the girl when they removed several piñatas from the car and one seemed much heavier than the others.
The girl -- who's about 4 or 5 years old -- was meticulously sealed inside but she was able to breathe. The girl's mother was curled up inside the car's trunk, and her brother, who's about 9, was underneath the collapsible back seat.
They were voluntarily deported to Mexico and the driver plus a passenger of the car -- both American citizens -- were not arrested.
Bond says the sheer volume of immigrant-smuggling cases far exceeds the government's ability to prosecute all smugglers.
Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
